Arrow's Flashpoint (On Hold)
by Moonshimmer Shadow-Phoenix
Summary: When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upsidedown. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.
1. First Sight

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

 **A/N & Disclaimer**: I decided to write this because I REALLY couldn't help myself. Ever since I first saw Oliver appear in the Flash, I had to find out more about him by watching Arrow, and became a fan of the pairing shortly after that. The storyline will be mainly canonical, but with changes when necessary (or just for fun). It starts off as sort of implied attraction and such, but gets more intense throughout the "retelling" of the episodes. Oh, and not _all_ the scenes will be ripped right from the show(s), promise, I definitely want to write my own interactions between the two. Be warned, while I have seen all of the aired Flash episodes at this point, I'm new to Arrow but am in the middle of season three. I own nothing but my plots! None of the characters are mine, except some minor OCs that may appear. All recognizable characters are not mine. Please note, the futher into this crazy story I get, you'll probably see some characters from other favorite fandoms of mine. If they don't physically appear they'll probably be mentioned at some point and referenced, albeit likely altered from their original stories to make it fit with this, because reasons. The series of characters who _may_ appear or be referenced are: DC Comics, Death Note, and Glee, I own none of the characters from any of these either, and you don't have to be familiar with the things above to understand the story, as I said they will be minor. Also, to those of you who aren't caught with the entire first season of Flash and at least up to the end of the second season of Arrow, this may get a _little_ bit confusing.

* * *

The first time Oliver Queen laid eyes on Barry Allen was still crystal clear in his mind, and not just because he made such a... _unique_ first impression, either.

While he didn't have anything _close_ to a perfect memory, the date was forever seared into his brain, because even if he didn't know it at the time, that day would put him on a path that would change his life so utterly and completely, he would never be able to turn back.

And really, he was perfectly fine with that.

* * *

Oliver was standing with his team in the Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division, going over the details of the recent break in, in an attempt to figure out who was behind it and what exactly had been stolen.

"This door was made of expanded, reinforced titanium," Diggle announced as he stood up from the spot he had been crouching at to get a better look at the evidence, shoving his hands in his pockets, a slightly troubled look on his face.

"What'd they use to do this?"

Shaking his head slightly as he surveyed the scene, Officer Quentin Lance responded, "Not sure yet, no sign of any explosives. Maybe a crane, maybe a forklift. I'm guessing there were at least three of them, maybe four. And given how quick they got in and out of here, they were fast."

 _No shit._

Lance was starting to get on his nerves already, with stating the obvious and half-assed attempts at humor that simply earned him the _look_ , because the last thing he wanted to think about at the moment was anything involving the earthquake, when one of the night janitors approached them, a tablet in hand, "This was what we were able to pull off the security cameras."

He watched the footage silently, but from what little he could see of the man's face before it went fuzzy, it wasn't anyone he knew personally.

"He was the only guy we got on video..." The worker looked at him, his expression almost apologetic, as if he were at fault for this fact, "The rest of the crew must of come in after him."

That was when he heard an unfamiliar voice speak up behind him.

"Actually, it was only one guy."

Oliver turned slightly along with the others, to see a young man approaching them with his own mini computer tablet balanced in one hand. He was rather tall and slender, very fair-skinned, with messy light brunette hair and bright green eyes, dressed in jeans, high tops and a long grey wool coat. He had a messenger bag over his shoulder and was wheeling behind him a silver metal suitcase.

A term that Tommy had coined in reference to some of their peers came to mind, and he could practically hear his deceased best friend call out, _"Greetings, prepschool nerd, the Academic Decathalon is thataway!"_ Although he usually reserved that phrase when it came to the people in their social circle that they made fun of behind their backs.

To be honest, the kid could have been in his early twenties at the oldest, or his mid teens at the youngest, Oliver wasn't sure, he had one of those baby-faces that looked naturally young.

He was about to open his mouth and speak, but the newcomer kept talking.

"Uh, sorry I'm late..." The boy began awkwardly, before hastily adding, "But, a-actually, my train was late. Well, the second one. The first one... I-I did miss, but that was my cab driver's fault," apparently not seeing the baffled looks on the others' faces, he continued, "I've got this great traffic app, and he thought that..." he trailed off, seeming to figure out that they didn't particularly care, "-he was right. But I'm here now, though, so..."

"Great," Lance said, with just a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "Who the hell are you?"

Stole the words right out of his mouth.

Despite the fact that he was most likely an adult, the former playboy couldn't help but make a light jab at the stranger's youthful looks, "And do your parents know that you're here?"

It was just a joke, but he noticed the boy's face fall slightly and felt a bit bad about it - for all he knew the kid was an orphan and he just made an ass out of himself with that comment.

He might have been used to it at this point, though, because he seemed to brush it off fairly quickly, "...Barry Allen." He introduced himself, his gaze flickering between the faces of the group standing there, but seemed to linger on Oliver. There was a nervousness in his eyes, as well as something else... admiration, maybe?

The kid must have known who he was, or at least, part of who he was.

"I'm from the Central City Police Department," at that, Officer Lance's eyebrows shot up, because no way did the boy old look enough to be a cop. Then he added, "I'm with the Crime Scene Investigation Unit." He rummaged through his jacket pocket, eventually pulling out his ID.

Huh, he really was CSI?

Even so, Oliver was still tempted to ask him if it was forged, because this Allen guy certainly didn't seem twenty four.

When he explained why he was there, though, Oliver immediately felt some skepticism, especially when he saw the confused look on Lance's face, because if CCPD was going to send some forensic tech kid across several states to investigate the break in, you would think they'd at least phone and give a heads up to the local department.

Something was _off..._

Lance had a better question to ask, though, "And you think one guy ripped through this door," he jerked his thumb behind his head, "Like it was tinfoil?" he asked incredulously.

"One _very_ strong guy," Barry corrected him, "Yeah."

Oliver blinked, looking away for a moment as he pondered that.

 _Could it be...?_

Seeing the disbelieving looks he was getting, the CSI glanced down for a moment, fumbling briefly over his words, before speaking, "Uh, it takes about 1,250 foot pounds of torque to break someone's neck," he told them, and despite the fact that forensics was his job, the billionaire couldn't help but wonder just _why_ exactly he knew that.

Barry showed them his tablet, switching the screen's image to one of the security guard, laying lifeless on an autopsy table, with the handprint on his neck very visible, "See the marks on the guard's neck," he pointed at it, "The bruising pattern strongly suggets... the killer used only one hand."

No, that wasn't _possible_ , nobody else knew about the Mirakuru, unless...

But if it was, what would even be the point?

Seeing the distant and vaguely unimpressed look on the celebrity's face, Barry figured that he didn't understand the full gravity of what that meant, "I'm guessing that _you_ don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck."

"Hmm?" Oliver looked up, to see the kid staring at him, and quickly responded, "No, no idea."

If only he knew.

Though he liked to think he had gotten better at lying over the years, the vigilante could practically _feel_ Felicity rolling her eyes at him for that one. Fortunately, the younger man didn't seem to notice.

When the worker, Jason, asked him for a list of the Divison's inventory so they could narrow down the list of what was stolen, Oliver was all for it. He just wanted to find the answer out to this quick so they could deal with it and then put it behind them.

"Actually," he heard the kid, _Barry_ , say, "I think I know what was stolen."

They all turned to him again, and Oliver gave him a look, raising an eyebrow because _really?_ He'd literally just got there, how could he possibly know when even they didn't yet?

"A centrifuge," Barry told them, his cheeks colored slightly at having all eyes on him, apparently not a big fan of being in the spotlight. "An industrial titanium centrifuge, to be more specific." He took a couple of steps back as he spoke, turning as he did so as to head further into the warehouse, "Probably the Kord Enterprises' 2BX 900, _maybe_ the six series. Both have a three column base..." He stopped in front of the rised platform base.

"Here, you can see the three sets of broken bolts where the thief just... just _ripped_ it out of the ground." Barry lifted his arm up in a pulling motion, and even added a sound effect for emphasis.

They all stared down at it, and Oliver lifted his gaze up slightly, eyeing Barry.

Just where in the hell did this kid _come_ from?

"And what exactly is a centrifuge?" Lance questioned, his expression said that he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Barry opened his mouth to answer, but Felicity beat him to it.

"Essentially? It, uh, it...separates liquids." The blonde tech informed them, "The centripedal acceleration causes denser substances to separate out along the radial direction." She said it so matter of fact, that none of them questioned her on it.

Oliver was used to hearing her science talk by now, even if he didn't always understand it.

The CSI seemed to want to add more, however, this time his focus was on Felicity when he spoke, "Yeah, and lighter objects move to the top due to the centrifugal force applied to its contents."

Felicity tilted her head slightly, her dark eyes seemed to suddenly regard him with more interest than they had before, "What did you say your name was again?"

"Barry," The kid responded instantly, "Allen."

She then smiled at him, "Felicity...Smoak."

He sent a slightly less shy smile back to her, "Felicity." He repeated, "English name, means happiness. Derived from the Latin word _felicitas_ , meaning good luck or fortune, taken from the name of the Ancient Roman goddess, and the Spanish word _felicidad_ meaning happiness too..." he trailed off, crossing his arms, suddenly looking even more awkward than he had been at the stares this got him, "Names are a, um, hobby...of mine."

 _Freak._

During the little monologue, Oliver was looking Barry over again, sizing him up.

This time, he seemed to notice, because when he looked at the billionaire again, he quickly changed subjects, "You can see the, uh, cracks, heading towards the door... Footsteps." He reiterated his original statement, "One guy."

Frowning slightly, Oliver crouched down next to the base to get a better look at it.

"Anyway, it's just a theory." He heard the kid saying, "One backed by a _lot_ of evidence."

He seemed pretty convinced, but Officer Lance clearly wasn't buying it, "There has to be another explanation."

"Y-Yeah, I'm sure you're right..." Barry's tone was doubtful.

When Oliver heard Lance not-so-subtly suggesting Felicity let their "friend" know about what was going on, he hid a smirk when she replied that he was probably already on it.

Sometimes these situations were almost too humorous, you couldn't _not_ get a kick out of them.

* * *

The secret vigilante was abruptly pulled from his thoughts, which he had gotten lost in while gazing out the window, restlessly, and watching the rain pouring down, when he heard footsteps approaching him.

"Oliver," he turned to face Diggle, "Got the final inventory from Applied Sciences, that CSI kid from Central City was right, the only thing missing is a centrifuge."

He took the papers from his friend to quickly check for himself, and unsurprisingly, the information was as stated.

Nothing else was stolen.

But _why?_

Just then, Felicity walked in, "You have _got_ to see this." She headed over to them with her tablet in hand, "I pulled up CC traffic camera footage from across the street of Applied Sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off, check it out."

She proceeded to show them the footage of the intruder walking out with the centrifuge, carrying it on _one shoulder_.

 _God damn it._

Before he could say anything, he spotted the kid from earlier hanging around near the doorway, apparently listening in on them. His tone was a bit curt when he addressed him, because he wasn't a big fan of eavesdroppers, "Can we help you, Detective?"

Stepping into the room, Barry corrected him on his assumption, "Oh, uh, CSIs aren't actually detectives."

Diggle watched as he stepped further into the room, crossing his arms over his chest. Hmm, perhaps he thought something was off about the guy as well.

Maybe he should have him look into it...

"We don't even carry guns," he continued, "Just some plastic baggies." He chuckled, and Felicity seemed to find him funny, because she laughed as well at the little joke.

For some reason that ticked him off slightly.

"Uh, where should I set up my equipment?" Barry's question was clearly directed at him, yet he didn't seem to look Oliver in the face. The young billionaire wondered why that was; either he was more upset by that parent comment then he had let on, or maybe his status intimidated him.

It wouldn't be the first time that had happened, he was sort of used to it at this point.

"Oh, I'll show you." Felicity volunteered instantly, and he had to resist the urge to frown at her in disapproval.

"What's going on?"

Barry came closer, "Your assistant said that you prefer to keep the investigation "in house", so I cleared it with my captain to give you a hand..." That irritated him, because he kind of wished people (mainly Felicity) would start consulting _him,_ he wasn't too keen on having a stranger work closely with them.

Trying not to look too annoyed, he took the blonde woman by her elbow and pulled her a distance away, asking her quietly, "What are you doing?"

Gazing back at him, Felicity replied softly, "We need to find this intruder, and he seems to know more about it than any of us." she glanced over her shoulder at the kid, then turned back and leaned in closer to whisper, as though it were some deep, dark secret, "Forensic science isn't _exactly_ my forte, so..."

Right. That was computers.

She looked back over at Barry, and a small smile touched her lips when she noticed him instantly turn his attention away from them, pretending he hadn't been trying to hear what they were saying.

"I say we need him." Felicity told Oliver, "Wouldn't you?"

Well, _fuck_.

Oliver agreed, a tight, forced smile on his face as he gave a slight nod, giving his assistant a look behind her back when she happily turned back to the CSI.

She headed over to him cheerily, "I'll show you around!"

As soon as they were gone, Diggle uncrossed his arms and spoke to him as he turned to look back out the window, "Why am I getting the feeling you know more about this than Felicity's new friend?"

He sincerely hoped that wasn't true, because if it was, then it meant the theft would soon be the least of their worries.

Thunder crashed ominously outside.

"Pray I'm wrong."

* * *

 **So, what do you think so far? This was a short beginning chapter from Ollie's POV, but the next one will start off with Barry, and possibly switch between the two. Cramming all of "The Scientist" episode into one chapter would be lots of dialogue if I _didn't_ plan to add my own scenes, which I do, so this one is relatively short. **

**I hope you'll follow along on my attempt to write a decent Flarrow fic! Leave a review if you have any comments, questions or advice!**


	2. Thundestruck

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Barry was starstruck.

That was really the only way he could describe how he felt upon meeting _the_ Oliver Queen, face to face, for the first time.

He'd never been acquainted with an actual celebrity before, and Mr. Queen most _definitely_ counted. He'd been in all the tabloids and on the news constantly when Barry was a young teenager, and when his family's ship sank, although he'd only been a high school senior at the time, it had still upset him greatly.

While his brother would claim he was a complete fanboy; Barry had never actually _admitted_ to having a crush on Oliver, but he would be lying if he said that the return of the former playboy hadn't amazed him.

Five years, stranded on a deserted island and totally _alone_ \- anyone that could survive all of that had to have some seriously strong will, and a true desire to live. He wondered how he would have done in the man's position, but could already guess without knowing.

Badly.

While both he and Sebastian had both been considered prodigies growing up, they were very different in almost every way. On equal footing in terms of intellect, they always came in at a tie. But when it came to athleticism - Sebastian had always come out on top. He was the sporty one, participating in everything from lacrosse to boxing to tennis. On top of that he'd been popular, frequently defending his younger sibling from countless bullies.

But Barry naturally had something his brother didn't: People skills.

Sure, Sebastian could be charming when he wanted to, and was more than capable of making friends and getting attention, but he'd always been a sarcastic, somewhat selfish, troublemaker. His boredom in school only prompted his rebellious behavior. Not to mention his arrogance could be somewhat offputting. Barry had been considered the "good" twin, up until their mother died, every teacher's favorite, the golden boy.

After going to live with Joe and Iris, they had drifted apart. Sebastian completely shut out Barry's attempts to convince him about the lightning man. He refused to believe in their father's innocence, and they struggled to connect every day after the night that Nora was killed. Not to mention the "incident" that happened about a year after, which they never talked about.

A couple of years after that, Barry had returned home from summer camp at the age of fourteen to find his brother's side of their shared bedroom cleared out, and Joe told him that Sebastian had insisted on going to stay with their mother's half sister and her husband, in Europe.

Though he knew his brother had left for a multitude of reasons, the younger boy couldn't help but feel as though Sebastian was running away from _him_ , away from their problems and their past.

He'd only seen his brother once or twice a year after he moved to Paris. While he never told him, Sebastian's eagerness at leaving Central City and putting his "past behind him" had hurt. Barry started hearing about how amazing France was, as well as the boarding academy for gifted students which allowed him to take university-level courses during his last two years of school.

Truthfully, the two boys had fought like crazy growing up, especially when Sebastian had tried to convince Barry to go with him when he left the continent, but he couldn't. He couldn't just leave their father behind, he didn't have it in him.

Because of the distance and infrequent communication between them, that had been their last big argument.

Suffice to say, their childhood hadn't been easy, and the distance didn't help, but it had shaped them both as well into who they were today. Besides, as adults their relationship had begun to steadily improve... for the most part.

For Barry, that meant working towards becoming a forensics investigator - though at the moment he was only a technician. He thought that if he could just _understand_ everything there was to about that night, he could find a way to prove that the man in yellow did exist, prove everyone wrong, and get his father released.

He loved his job, even though he was only an assistant at this point, he still had his own space (because he was difficult to work with, as Captain Singh would put it), and working on cases with the police he met some very interesting people.

Never a celebrity, though.

When he realized he a chance to look into a case with possible supernatural involvement (an opportunity to find a possible connection to that night all those years ago) and meet _Oliver Queen_ at the same time, he simply couldn't pass it up.

But when he arrived all he could do was babble on about traffic and other nonsense before snapping out of it, because the man was right in front of him, and he was so incredibly attractive and distracting...

While he hoped his planet-sized crush wasn't obvious, it probably was.

It seemed impossible, but Oliver Queen was even more devastatingly handsome in person. Tall, dark and gorgeous came to mind. But more than that, there was an aura about him... something strong and fierce, that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Maybe it was the brooding expression, or the piercing and stormy eyes, or the sharp, perfectly tailored charcoal grey suit, but it made being around him difficult to think clearly.

He couldn't help the pleased embarassment he felt at the reluctantly impressed look the billionaire had given him when he quickly deduced (and backed up) that the theft must have been of a Kord centrifuge, and that the culprit had been one very strong man instead of four.

Secretly thrilled at the chance to work so closely to Mr. Queen, he had jumped at the opportunity that the perky blonde computer specialist had offered him. Felicty was nice and very friendly, despite working as a secretary of sorts for the very stern heir to Queen Consolidated.

Barry had felt bad about lying to them, especially to Oliver and Officer Lance - he could practically picture Joe's look of disapproval if he ever found out his foster son had lied to a police officer, but this wasn't just a once in a lifetime chance to meet his crush, but also something that could very well lead to a possible break in his crusade to find the truth behind his mother's death once and for all.

He hoped that, if they knew the truth, they would understand.

* * *

The young CSI was in awe of the sheer quality of Queen Consolidated's equipment.

It shouldn't have surprised him, the Queens were rich after all, but he'd be crazy not to get excited over being able to put his hands on some of this stuff - it was just so _cool_.

Barry was kneeling by the centrifuge's platform, squinting as the blue LED lights shone overhead, while setting up his own supplies, which he had brought with him from Central City. He was so focused on the task at hand that he nearly jumped when a voice spoke up, having forgotten that Felicity was in the room with him.

"What exactly is it you're looking for?"

Pulling on a pair of white latex gloves, he grabbed some tweezers from his kit, lowering his head down to one of the footprints the criminal had left behind, closely examining it, "Uh, your thief's shoes touched the ground, which means he tracked in dozens of clues as to where he's been the past few days."

Finding something so small it was nearly microscopic, he managed to pick it up and hastily stood with a triumphant, "Gotcha!"

As he made his way over to the processer, he noticed Felicity watching him with interest, and gave her a cheery grin as he placed the newly found evidence inside the machine, and she smiled back in response.

"Shouldn't take long," he informed her, his heart pumping a little faster with excitement.

As the blonde woman turned to look at her computer for a moment, he suddenly recalled something he wanted to ask her, "So... you've seen him, right?" he asked, tone curious, carefully examining her facial expression for any sort of reaction.

When she merely looked back at him with mild confusion, he clarified, "T-The Vigilante?"

Felicity's eyes widened and her mouth formed a little 'o' of realization, before she quickly glanced back towards her computer as it beeped impatiently, but he continued anyways, "I read that he saved you. What was he like?" He was honestly dying to know.

Ever since he had first caught wind of a hooded, shadowy figure of the night guarding over Starling City, taking down criminals and rescuing civilians, he had been overwhelmed with curiosity. The archer was like a real, modern-day hero and even if he did have to break the law, Barry personally felt the world needed more people like him, people who weren't afraid to do what the cops couldn't in order to get results.

Looking almost like a deer caught in headlights, Felicity scrambled for an answer, "Um... Green."

Green?

Oh! _Of course!_

"Green," Barry repeated, a little grin working its way onto his face, along with wonder, "That's really interesting, right?"

He put his hands down on the cold, metal lab table, a thoughtful hum escaping him as he mulled over that for a few seconds, "I mean, why green? Black would be much better for stealth, and urban camouflage..." he trailed off.

Hoping to divert Barry from his current train of thought, the petite blonde told him, "Well, maybe he just likes it. Me? I like purple. What about you, Barry, what color is your favorite?"

"Hmm?" The foresnic scientist asked, distractedly, "Oh, uh, I like red. Blue and yellow are nice too I guess. Studies show environment has a lot to do with it..." he suddenly slapped his palm down on the table, causing her to jump in surprise, "I've got it! He must have trained in some sort of forest or jungle area, and the green could be a nod to his roots."

"I don't give the Vigilante much thought," Felicity all but snapped, as she went to turn off the LEDs. She hated being rude, and she hated lying even more, but this guy was seriously smart to deduce the reasoning behind her simple, one word answer about her boss and she was afraid he'd put it together if she didn't shut him up, and her hasty reply had been an attempt to get him to drop the subject.

It worked, because Barry fell silent... for about three seconds.

The brunette boy fidgeted as she stood back up, before blurting out, "Police reports show that he uses carbon arrows, but if he switched to an aluminum-carbon composite he would have _far_ better penetration."

Okay, Felicity knew the smart thing to do was stay silent, but she couldn't. After Oliver had broken his vow in order to save her from Count Vertigo so recently, she felt the need to defend him and his decisions, "Yeah? Well maybe he thinks he penetrates just fine." She froze, and a blush erupted across her cheeks at her totally accidental innuendo.

Thankfully, Barry seemed to not notice her embarassing little slip up, "Do you want to know something else?" he grinned as he turned to face her, "I think that he has partners."

Oh, crap.

"Really? What makes you say that?"

Clearly that was a question he wanted her to ask, and she instantly regretted doing so.

"Because! It would be almost impossible for him to go into a fight completely unprepared with no prior knowledge of what he was going to be facing. On top of that, how would he get from one place to another so quickly without help? I think he must have at least one, definitely someone with a background in computer sciences," he tone was matter-of-fact, "Maybe he has more. Someone with military training is a possibility, since they would have at least basic medical training. He might even have someone inconspicious out on the streets working for him, gathering information on the down-low..." he rattled on, and Felicity felt so nervous she was almost sick.

The blonde was not so good of a liar that she could keep this going. What was Barry, some kind of freaky smart detective with a degree in behavioral analysis?!

No, scratch that, he had specifically told them that he wasn't a detective.

So that meant he was just a freaky smart genius or something.

"Yeah," She said, her tone wary, "So, um, why are you so interested in the Vigilante anyways?" she asked, both because of genuine curiosity, but also to hopefully distract him from anymore "guesses" about the Arrow.

Barry's excited smile faded, his gaze dropped to the table for a moment, and he seemed like he was struggling to find the right words, "...When I was eleven, my mom was murdered." He eventually confessed, and Felicity felt like she had been hit by a freight train.

That was _not_ the answer that she was expecting.

"I-I'm so sorry."

Now she felt bad for asking.

"No, don't be..." Barry murmured, a look of sadness touched his eyes, "They, um, never caught the guy who did it,"

Despite what the records said, in his mind the case was still unsolved and open. Giving a little shrug, he said, "I just think... maybe he would have."

Silence fell across the room.

"I mean, that's what the Vigilante does, right?" The brunette straightened his back, biting his lower lip briefly, "He stands up for those that can't defend themselves, he solves the crimes that the police are too scared to... To be honest, I always wished there was a hero like that around when I was a kid, I feel like... maybe if he were around back then, my family would still be together."

Felicity didn't know what to say. She knew it was people like Barry that would push Oliver to keep doing what he did. Because even if the former playboy didn't see himself as a hero, he was, this proved it. It was ironic in a sad sort of way; Barry clearly worshipped both sides of her boss, and yet Oliver seemed so suspicious and annoyed at his presence earlier.

Thankfully, before the quiet could get too awkward, the computer emitted a light beep sound.

Barry moved to check the results, "The soil." he muttered, "There's a crystalline structure in it. That's weird..."

"What's weird?"

The forensic scientist had a perplexed expression on his face, "It's sugar."

* * *

"You found something?" Oliver asked as soon as he caught sight of Felicity.

The blonde turned to look at him, " _We_ found something," she corrected, with a stern edge to her tone that surprised him a bit, not that it showed on his face.

Barry headed around the metal table so he was standing in front of him and Diggle, "There were trace amounts of sucrose in a speck of dirt that the killer dragged here on his boot." he announced.

"Which got me thinking," Felicity nodded along with her new friend, "There is a sugar refinery two miles from here, and the land around it is suffused in waste sugar, so I checked. They had a delivery truck stolen a few days ago."

Diggle rose an eyebrow at that.

"Their truck matches the make and model of the truck that the thief used to steal the centrifuge."

Staring at Barry for a moment, he turned and pointedly asked Felicity, "Can you track the vehicle?"

"We've been trying." The computer beeped beside them.

Oliver frowned, "What was that?"

Checking the the screen, Felicity blanched, "You're not going to believe this... The truck, it was just used to rob a blood bank?" she phrased it more like a question, as if she couldn't believe what she was reading.

"Are you sure?" He asked sharply.

" _Yeah_ ," Despite her words, Felicity was shaking her head in disbelief, "Our guy just made off with 30,000 CCs of O-Negative."

Diggle's mouth opened slightly, shocked, "What, he has super strength and likes blood? Please don't tell me that we suddenly believe in vampires."

They heard a click and saw Barry had taken his cell phone out, "This isn't good. O-Negative is widely considered a universal blood type for donation, it's possible your thief might also have living human victims held captive somewhere." He said, "We should get this information to the local police-"

"No," Oliver said, almost too quickly, and the CSI gave him a startled, confused look, "I'll take care of that."

He proceeded to question Barry about the similar case he had mentioned working on back in Central City, and it was the boy's refusal to make eye contact and poor, nervous responses that made him more suspicious than he had been before.

As soon as he and John were out of earshot, he told him to look more into Barry Allen's background, because something seriously wasn't sitting right with him.

* * *

Felicity was beginning to realize just how seriously Barry took his science.

"They have Nitric Acid _next_ to Hydrazine?" Barry's tone was completely horrified, "Permaneganates on _top_ of Acetone? This is the _definition_ of dangerous." He shook his head in obvious disapproval and began to rearrange the chemicals.

"Um, if it's so dangerous, maybe you shouldn't be _touching_ them..." The blonde told him lightly.

Thunder crashed outside, and the young man was temporarily distracted from his rant as he glanced out the window.

"Barry?" She called, and he blinked, looking back at her.

"Yeah?"

She began pulling on a pair of blue latex gloves, "I managed to get a sample of the perpetrator's blood from the police department," she said, "We need to isolate a sedative in the blood, it could lead us to the thief..."

"How did the police get it?" He asked, distantly, still focused on his sorting and reorganizing.

"Apparently the Vigilante shot him with an arrow."

Barry's head snapped up and she had to suppress a smirk, because she knew that would get his attention. "You're _kidding_." He jumped down off of the stool and made his way over to her, "You know what this means, right? This means the Vigilante must be working the same case as we are!"

"Heh," she rubbed the back of her neck, before moving to extract the blood into a vial for analysis. "Go figure."

"How did you get it?" He questioned, and she stiffened momentarily.

Felicity settled for telling him a partial truth, "Oliver has a lot of connections."

He chuckled, but his voice was still pretty amazed, "Wow... Pays to work for a billionaire."

"Actually, my take home's nothing special," She told him honestly, "Especially given that I am rarely at home, since I'm with him every night."

"Ah..." Barry looked down awkwardly, "I didn't realize that you and he were-"

She turned red up to her hair roots, "Oh, no. _Work_." She emphasized quickly, "He and I are not... _No_. I do not like Oliver. Not like that."

Getting the picture, the man nodded at that, falling quiet, and she caught a flash of something on his face.

Was that... relief?

That was a little pleasing, especially considering Barry was super smart and cute in the nerdy but loveable sort of way, and she thought that they'd been getting along really well the past little while.

Maybe now was her chance...

"Um, I was invited," she began, and he turned back to face her, having been looking restlessly at the ceiling, hearing the rain pour outside, "To a work function... It's a party, and I have a plus one." He blinked at her, and she wanted to groan at his now obvious obliviousness, "I was thinking that you would make a really good plus one."

"Oh," Barry seemed legitimately surprised by the offer, staring at her for a moment, before asking, "There's, uh, not going to be dancing, is there?" At her questioning look, he told her, "I'm just... not to good on my feet."

Felicity shook her head and smiled brightly at him, because wow, he was totally _clueless_.

It was kind of sweet.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Barry was watching the news while awaiting more test results.

 _"-Central City is just a day away from making history when the controversial S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator is finally turned on."_

Curious about the big grin on his face, she went to join him by the television, "It's pretty cool, right?" He asked excitedly.

Looking at him with disbelief, she said, "You know there's been a hundred percent increase in earthquakes since they've turned on the Large Hadron Collider?"

His smile faded and he rolled his eyes as if she had said something utterly ridiculous, "Hey, that data is... misleading."

Taking his tone as a challenge, the blonde put her hands on her hips, "Oh, do tell?"

Just then, Oliver entered the room, "You _would_ know about misleading, wouldn't you?"

All the humor and playfulness immediately left the room, and Felicity frowned a little, concerned and a bit peeved about the way her boss was glaring at her new friend, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, he's not from CSI," Oliver was glaring daggers at Barry, "He's a forensics assistant. Whose bosses don't know that you're in Starling, and there is no similar case in Central City." He crossed his arms, all of what he said unnecessarily confirmed by the look of guilt that flashed across the kid's face, "So tell me, _Barry_ , what are you really doing here?"

Confused, Felicity looked to her fellow geek for answers.

Barry lowered his head for a moment, closing his eyes briefly, and then exhaled, the sound was painful. When he spoke, he was addressing Felicity, seeming unable to meet Oliver's gaze. "I... I told you my mom was murdered."

"By your father." Oliver stated, and Barry flinched at the shocked look he recieved from the blond, before his eyes flashed and he took a few steps towards the CEO with a fierce expression, "He _didn't do it_. I was there that night, I know what really happened." His tone was vehement.

"...But I thought you said that the police didn't find the man who killed her?"

When Barry turned to look at her again, she was surprised by the amount of pain in his hazel green eyes, "The police think they did." He whispered, "My dad has been serving a life sentence...for a crime he didn't commit. They didn't believe me, _no one_ believed me."

"About what?" Felicity asked, her voice was soft, and she reached out to put a hand on Barry's shoulder, ignoring the stare that Oliver gave her in response.

"I was eleven." The brunette told her, swallowing hard, "One night... something just came into my house like a tornado. I could feel the static," he closed his eyes again for a minute, remembering, "There was a blur of red and yellow...electricity. Somewhere inside that blur, I saw a person."

His words hung heavy in the air.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Oliver gazing downwards, he seemed to be thinking deeply about something.

"My dad went to fight it," Barry said, his shoulders were tense, his expression hard, yet still vulnerable somehow. "The only reason his prints were on that knife was because he was a doctor, he couldn't just take it out without killing her, he was trying to keep her stable until help arrived. I remember... I tried to get to them, when suddenly..." he stopped, and sighed, because even if she did believe so far, she wouldn't on this next part, no one ever had.

"I was twenty blocks away from our house, standing outside. It was like something moved me. I ran, I ran _as fast as I could_ , but by the time I got back..." his voice was wavering, and he swallowed hard, "It was too late. She was already gone. I'd...I'd never seen anyone killed before..."

For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of something in the CEO's eyes, empathy...maybe.

It was gone before he could be sure.

"No one ever believed what I saw that night. Not the police, or the psychologists, even my own brother told me I was crazy. They thought I was some scared little kid trying to cover for his father. But what happened that night... I'll never forget it. It was real."

They didn't think he was just afraid, they thought he was nuts. All of the forced visits to therapists and psychiatrists proved that they thought so. Hell, after getting desperate enough he'd visited a church, figuring maybe it was some sort of demon in his house that night. No one there believed him either, though.

He stared Oliver directly in the eyes then, desperate to make the man see what he was trying to say. "As real as the man that ripped down that metal door with his bare hands." He held his breath, struggling for a moment, not seeing the way Oliver glanced away at his words. "That's why I look into cases like this, where things that are unexplainable happen, the ones nobody believes are possible. I believe in the impossible, because I saw the impossible happen."

Barry crossed his arms, his face looked even paler than usual, "Maybe... if I can just make sense of one, I might be able to find out who really killed my mother... and free my dad. My family is the only reason I do what I do." He took a deep breath, facing Oliver once more, "I _am_ sorry I lied to you. But would you have believed me if I was upfront from the beginning? I've tried that method before, it never works."

He gave Felicity a sad, broken smile that was wavering in the way that made it clear he was trying to fight back his tears.

The pain was evident in his voice.

"Better find another plus one."

Without another word, he ducked his head down and walked out.

At the look Felicity was giving him, Oliver sighed, trying to ignore the nauseating twist in his gut, "He _did_ lie about who he really was."

She shook her head, scoffing as she stepped in front of him, "And what do we do everyday?" she asked him, her voice impossibly quiet, before she, too, left.

* * *

Oliver couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier that afternoon.

Had it really been wrong of him to confront Barry like that in front of Felicity? She certainly seemed to feel that way, and was currently not speaking to him at the moment.

Thinking back, he realized it probably would have been simpler if he had just taken the kid aside from the beginning and asked him what his real motivations were. Sure, he had lied, but his "assistant" did have a point - was it really so different from the lies he told?

What was it Barry had said before he left?

 _My family is the only reason I do what I do._

He could certainly relate to that.

Though he didn't know whether the man's father was innocent or not, nor was it any of his business, he did have a bit of trouble with believing anything was impossible. A man had torn a titanium door off of it's hinges, after all. If someone really was trying to recreate Mirakuru... was it really that crazy to think that a man made of lightning had killed a woman?

Yes, it was.

It sounded totally ridiculous.

But that didn't stop him from feeling almost...guilty.

Felicity had been visibly upset earlier, because no matter how he might have felt, she cared about Barry.

He had to do something to fix it.

* * *

Well, this day just kept getting better and better.

Thea was angry with him (even if she didn't show it), and so was Felicity, and the party for his mother was a complete disaster, so he'd really only suceeded in upsetting three of the most important women in his life.

Great.

Hopefully he would be able to fix at least two of those things by the end of the night.

Despite hating being tricked, Oliver had to admit it was worth it when he saw the smile that appeared on the blonde computer tech's face when she spotted her new friend in the doorway. Even if it sent a slight pang of jealousy through his chest, he managed to brush it off with another not-so-subtle jab at Barry's young appearance before leaving the two alone.

* * *

Barry almost didn't have the nerve to show up that night.

He had been in shock when Oliver called him - and invited him personally to come to the party he had thrown for his mother. No mention of his lies were brought up, just the fact that Felicity would be very letdown if he decided not to come.

For some reason, that was slightly disappointing.

Of course she was why he had called (how had he gotten the room number of the hotel he was at anyways?), it was obvious he cared about Felicity as more than a friend.

Still, he did want to see them again, both of them.

It was absurd, but even after all that had happened, he still wanted to see Oliver again. Maybe to try to further explain his actions, make him understand, or ask for his forgiveness...

Either way, he couldn't help the fact that his legs felt like lead as he entered the room.

* * *

When Barry seemed to go missing from the party, Oliver wasn't sure why, but his first instinct was to check the balcony connecting to the ballroom.

His instincts were rarely wrong.

"Hey, Kid."

The younger man turned to look at him, and Oliver frowned slightly at the expression on his face, "You okay? You took off all of a sudden, Felicity wanted me to make sure that nothing was wrong."

It was a half truth, Felicity had noticed his absence, but it had been his idea to go looking for him.

For some reason, Barry's shoulders seemed to slump at the mention of the blonde.

"Just looking at the stars," he said softly, directing the older male's gaze upwards, where the night had shifted into a tapestry of brilliant, shining diamonds, strewn across the ever darkening sky. "It's something I do whenever... I feel like I need to clear my head." A small smile appeared on his face.

Glancing up into the infinite night, giving it a more thorough look than he had before, the archer could understand why Barry seemed so relaxed out here. It was cool, breezy, and calm.

"They're beautiful."

He got a distracted hum in response.

Moving closer, Oliver leaned against the rail, noticing the distant expression on Barry's face, "Is there something on your mind, then?"

Barry hesitated, before turning to face Oliver completely, and the man was slightly taken aback by the look in his eyes.

It was so damaged, and defeated...

No one his age should have that look, the one he knew all too well at this point. He briefly considered that it might have been due to recent events, maybe the kid was thinking about his parents, or maybe it was something else. Either way, he didn't have to wait too long until the younger boy spoke again.

"Have you ever had a secret you couldn't tell anybody?" He asked abruptly, although it seemed rhetorical, so he didn't respond. He got the feeling this was just something Barry needed to get off of his chest.

Barry gazed at Oliver, looking conflicted, "I mean, not even your family, or your best friend? And not because you think they couldn't keep it, or because you didn't want them to know, but because you were terrified that they... they wouldn't accept you, for who you are? That they would treat you differently once they found out the truth?"

 _Kid, you have no idea_ , Oliver thought sombrely, but instead told him, "We all have secrets, Barry."

The boy blinked at him in response.

"Some we choose to share with those closest to us, and others we keep to ourselves for a variety of reasons." He continued, turning to look back up at the sky, "But it's _your_ secret to tell, and no one can force you to share it before you're ready to. You want my advice?"

He waited, and the CSI nodded at him slowly.

"If it feels right, I say that you should tell them, and if they can't accept you for what you are - for _who_ you are - then... maybe they're not the kind of people you want to have in your life after all." His own expression became distant then, as he considered his words.

Barry, at this point, got the distinct feeling he was getting lost in his own mind at this point, and decided to leave him alone for awhile, and rejoin the party, but first...

"Oliver?"

The man looked over at him, questioningly, and to his surprise he saw that light in Barry's eyes again, burning with admiration for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand.

"Thank you."

* * *

It was harder than he thought to say goodbye to Felicity, so Barry couldn't even begin to consider going to talk to Oliver before he left.

He had no idea what he would even say, for starters.

Plus he had a deadline, and had to make it back to Central City before he got fired.

But of course he was unlucky enough to have just missed the last train for the night.

Sighing heavily, Barry sat down and prepared himself for a long wait - he didn't have anywhere else to go considering he'd already checked himself out of the hotel he was staying at.

Great, just great.

He was completely alone in a train station, at night, and in a storm no less.

This was how horror movies started.

Barry was drifting in and out, and his senses weren't all that great to begin with.

So he never saw it coming.

A sharp, sudden sting in the side of his neck, and he was falling, vision blackening before he even knew what was going on, remembering an overwhelming sense of panicked confusion before he slipped into unconsciousness.

When he awoke, the bright lights overhead made his eyes hurt, and he became aware of the fact that he was laying on a very cold, very hard metal table.

A lab table...

His gaze drifted slowly across the unfamiliar room, as he sat up carefully he pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, completely disoriented.

 _What was going on?_

Looking around, he began taking in strange things - computers, a metal mannequinn, arrows, and other weird and slightly creepy things.

Wait...

No way, he wasn't...

Had he been abducted by the Vigilante?

Before he could begin freaking out (or be thrilled, whatever came first), Barry noticed a table opposite to him. First, he saw the black boots, long legs covered in leather pants, gloved hands and a motionless torso clothed in a biker-esque jacket.

The Archer!

And that was when he saw his face.

Trying to wrap his head around what he was looking at made him dizzy, because it just felt so surreal, and he didn't know what to _think_.

Oliver Queen.

 _Impossible._

Actually, no, it wasn't, not even slightly. It made way more sense then it should have. The secrecy, how the Vigilante seemed to know everything they did at the same time, Oliver's irritation at being lied to, Felicity freaking out whenever he brought the guy up...

They were the _same person_.

He noticed Oliver's bodyguard - Mr. Diggle - standing beside him, and that was when he realized the man was totally unconscious. In fact, it looked as though he wasn't breathing, and that was enough to send his heartbeat skyrocketing.

What was wrong with him?

Though fully aware he had been drugged and abducted (something which he wouldn't really think about until much later), he couldn't take his eyes off of Oliver's face.

Before he could ask what in the hell was going on, and what he was doing there, Felicity came out of nowhere and was blocking his view of the billionaire, a look of subdued concern on her face, yet her voice was small and frightened, barely restrained, when she spoke, as though she were afraid he'd be angry with her.

"Please save my friend."

* * *

 **This chapter took forever to write, and I'll probably revise it when it's not five-thirty in the morning and I haven't slept, but I hope you are enjoying it so far anyways!**


	3. Poison

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

As difficult as it was to wrap his head around the fact that Oliver Queen was actually the Vigilante, Barry had always been a quick thinker and he was usually able to adapt to situations fairly easily.

This was one of those times, thankfully, despite him being mildly in shock at this point.

Besides, at the moment, he was more focused on the small matter of the older man laying on the lab table who was _flatlining_.

When his body started to convulse unconsciously, that was when Barry really went into adrenaline mode.

"Hold him down!" He commanded the others as he rushed to Oliver's side, knowing that in this state it was possible he would fall off or hurt himself some other way, as he was not in control of his actions. "What happened to him?"

"He went to factory to confront the thief, we found him unconscious with two syringes sticking out of his leg and we have no idea what he was injected with."

 _Not good._

Diggle was checking his pulse, "He's not going to make it."

"He will," Felicity insisted, attempting (and failing) to mask the sheer panic in her voice, "We just have to figure out what's in his system."

It was then that Barry began to realize he didn't have a clue where to begin, "I-I-I usually only work on dead people," he confessed, silently cursing that despite having read dozens of medical texts growing up, the pressure was currently getting to him.

" _Barry!_ "

The tone of voice Felicity used made him decide that regardless of the risks involved, he had to at least try to help Oliver.

"All right," Barry quickly grabbed the LED flashlight sitting on one of the tables and made his way over to the upper half of Oliver's body, opening one of his eyes to take a look. "I can think of four possible diagnoses for what's causing his body to react this way."

Pupils dilated, body covulsions, legs swelling...

"Make that three possible diagnoses."

 _Fuck._

"Two," He told them, running over to grab a syringe, and drawing blood from the man's arm so he could see for himself what it looked like. "Got it. It's a Thrombophiliac State."

Diggle cast him a side ways look, while he continued doing chest compressions as told. "What does that even _mean?!_ "

"He's suffering from intravenous coagulation."

"What?"

The CSI looked over at Felicity, "His blood is unnaturally clotting, it's almost like... maple syrup."

"You can save him, right?"

Barry took a quick look around, and spotted a tipped-over box of McGuire's Rat Poison on their shelf, he went to grab it.

"Lucky you guys have a rat problem." He said, although it was even luckier that this was the same kind Joe had used when he growing up and he knew for a fact that this brand in particular contained Warfarin, which was used to treat precisely what Oliver was currently suffering from.

He didn't have to look to see that Diggle was staring at him in horror, "Are you kidding? That'll kill him!"

The brunette shook his head, "He dies if I don't!" Cardiac arrest, multiple organ failure, and other very bad, _deadly_ things. "Rat poison is made of the same ingredients as the single most popular anticoagulant in North America!" he shouted over top of the wildly beeping machines.

"Felicity!"

The blonde looked directly at him, " _Do it._ "

Oliver didn't have the time for them to argue about this!

"Just the right amount of this stuff will thin his blood enough to get it circulating again," Barry told them in an attempt to ease their nerves as he filled the man's IV with said _stuff_.

Now all they could do was keep him stable and hope.

* * *

When Oliver began to come to, the first thing he became aware of was someone's fingers near his throat.

That woke him up instantly.

He lunged forward without thinking twice about it and wrapped his hands around his attacker's throat, hearing a choked gasp in response, his self-preservation instincts kicking in as he squeezed, hard.

Then he felt a hand grab his shoulder, and Diggle's urgent voice, and Felicity's overlapping it, "Oliver! Let him go!"

It was only then that his he actually paid attention to who he had grabbed.

Barry Allen.

Oliver released the kid and fell back against the table, "What the-what the _hell_ is going on?" he demanded, surprised by his sudden shortness of breath, and the younger man's presence in his basement, the contents of which were supposed to be unseen!

Reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder as he stood up, hoping to calm him, Felicity answered, "You were injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant."

 _What?_

"You would have stroked out," Barry told him, breathing heavily and wincing as he touched his throat, "Ahem... but fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy." When the older man looked at him, he pointed to the red box on the table, "Warfarin. Better known as rat poison."

 _They told him who he was._

"Kid saved your life, Oliver," Diggle said from somewhere behind him, sensing his friend was starting to get angry.

 _Without his permission._

"Um," Felicity spoke up, her voice soft but firm, "This is the point in a lifesaving emergency where you _thank_ the person that did the livesaving."

He turned to her, "You told him who I am."

Oliver's voice was quiet, but he leveled a betrayed look on the blonde.

"Yeah, I did." She replied, matter of factly, her posture becoming defensive.

"That's not your secret to tell, Felicity." There was a distinctly sharp edge to his tone now. "I decide who finds out my identity."

He knew he was being unreasonable, he _knew_ that, but it didn't stop him from being upset about it, because there had to have been another way to handle this - they could have possibly redressed him and brought him to a hospital, or... _something_.

Anger flashed across Felicity's face, and she moved around the lab table so she was in front of him, "Well, we didn't have time to get your vote. What with you, you know, unconscious and _dying_." She snapped.

"What happens if he leaves here and goes right to the police?" Oliver demanded.

"He wouldn't do that," Felicity responded, at the same time that Barry echoed her statement, "Besides, I trust him."

"I don't!"

Oliver didn't see, his back turned, but Barry flinched a little as his voice raised an octave.

"Well, he knows now, Oliver. What are you going to do?" The computer geek nearly hissed, "Put an arrow in him?"

"I am considering it."

Seeing the way the young scientist paled, Felicity assured him, "Don't worry, he's kidding!"

Barry didn't seem too comforted, crossing his arms and looking down awkwardly.

Felicity, despite her short stature, glared up at her boss with blue eyes blazing behind her square-edged glasses, "How is this any different from when your mother shot you and you came to me for help?" she questioned him, in the form of a demand.

The forensics assistant had a pretty clear _"what the fuck?"_ expression on his face when he heard that, "Your mother _shot_ you?" he asked, shocked.

Scowling, Oliver turned and held up a finger, signaling for him to remain silent, before looking back at his friend.

"Or when you brought Dig down here when he was poisoned with Curare?"

The man known as the Hood was clearly pissed off at this point, "The difference is that I did my homework on both of you! I don't just tell people easily."

"I-I'm not going to tell anyone," Barry spoke up, despite the warning he'd been silently given, "And you don't have to thank me, but you _should_ thank her, instead of being kind of a jerk."

When Oliver stepped closer, the look he gave Barry, despite the the two of them being close in height, made him shrink back slightly, "Mr. Queen." He added, with just a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Thankfully, he was saved by the man's phone going off.

"I have to go home," Oliver sighed, sounding worn out, as he checked his text message, "That man that I fought in the bunker, he has what he needs to mass produce the serum from the island, and we have to stop him." He started to leave.

Barry knew he was better off staying quiet, but whatever was going on - if he could help, then he had to. "He, uh, he touched your skin when he grabbed your neck." He said, and Oliver turned to him with a look of annoyance, "I was able to absorb the residual oils from his skin... which, when added to a gel-based polymer, might be able to recreate his fingerprint."

Oliver merely gave him a curt nod before he disappeared up the stairs.

Frowning slightly when the young man sighed and hung his head, Felicity walked up and put a comforting hand on his arm, "Never meet your heroes, right?" she asked, softly.

Well, he definitely agreed with that _now_.

"How's your neck?"

"Fine," Barry replied, though he rubbed at the skin where there was sure to be bruises forming when he was reminded of it, "It's not the first time I've been assaulted, anyways." At her surprised and concerned look, he tried to rectify his statement with humor, adding, "It _is_ the first time I've been drugged, kidnapped and taken to a secret lair, though."

It worked, she laughed.

* * *

Despite the situation, i.e. Barry sort of feeling as though he was being held hostage until Oliver and the others decided what was to be "done" about him, he had to admit...

This was pretty freaking _cool_.

He was actually in the Hood's base of operations, it was amazing and he couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he joined Diggle's side, "I _knew_ the Vigilante had partners."

"He likes to be called the Arrow now." John replied simply.

The young man was still looking around at all the stuff with a fascinated expression, "You three have messed with some _really_ nasty people. The Doll Maker, Count Vertigo, Dodger, The Huntress..." he trailed off, taking interest in Oliver's collection of arrows.

Diggle glanced at him, "We weren't keeping score."

"Well, I was."

Oliver walked in then.

"Barry," The forensic scientist turned around, a wary expression on his face as the older male approached him. He didn't sound as hostile as before, but his tone was still rather unfriendly, "The rat poison you gave me, are there any side effects?"

Uh-oh...

Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment, "Um, yeah... I think hallucinations, maybe, fever and um... excessive sweating." He opened his eyes to see the unsettled expression on Oliver's face, he had to ask, "Are you sweating excessively?"

Without answering, he turned away, only to come face to face with Felicity.

"You're hallucinating?" she asked, concerned, "What are you seeing?"

Oliver sighed, shaking his head slightly, he didn't want to talk about her, but he knew he couldn't keep hiding everything that had gone on to himself forever, not from his team. "A girl named Shado that was with me on the island."

"Shado," The blonde repeated, a vaguely annoyed expression taking over the worry, as she walked away, "Sara. How many women were you _marooned_ with? You sure this wasn't fantasy island?"

His frustration level only increased when a very excited Barry rushed in front of him, "You _did_ train in a jungle or forest environment!" his smile was bright; triumphant. "Hence the green." Seeing the ire on his face, he quickly added, "Here, uh, let me draw some blood, see what's up."

Great.

They headed over to where he had the medical equipment set up, "Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked, but Oliver merely stuck his arm out, a blank expression on his face, "Why no mask? Not to tell you how to do your vigilante...ing, but the grease paint thing? It's a poor identity concealer."

Felicity just had to choose _him_ of all people to save his life, didn't she?

Getting to be quite irritated with the kid, Oliver replied, "So, find me a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and doesn't affect my ability to aim while I'm on the run."

But Barry didn't sense the nearly undetectable sarcasm in his voice, "You should look into a compressible micro fabric." And there was that cheery grin again, "It could be really great."

Just then, Felicity called out, "Found Cyrus Gold."

Huh?

Oliver headed over to where she was typing away at her computer, "Who's Cyrus Gold?"

It was Diggle that answered him, "The human weapon that left you nearly dead the other night. The kid did manage to pull his print off of your neck." He could hear a bit of an edge to the normally stoic man's voice.

Wonderful, both of his partners were annoyed with him.

He glanced over his shoulder at Barry, who seemed too focused on testing the fresh sample of blood he'd just taken from him to notice.

Damn it, he didn't like the kid, he didn't like being lied to. Felicity was fond of him though. And he had saved his life... it seemed like that was enough to warm Diggle up to him. While he still didn't trust Barry, the kid did seem genuinely interested in helping them.

He wondered why that was though.

Thinking of the excitement and all of the questions, he realized the answer was plainly obvious.

Barry must have been a fan of the Arrow.

Wonderful, first Roy, and now this.

He had _not_ signed up for having his own club of pre-pubescent admirers, though he should have figured that this would happen. Anything controversial was bound to have its own cult following.

"I've had facial recognition software scanning closed circuit cameras all over down," the blonde continued on, not noticing his distraction, "He's at the corner of Delgado and 25th right now, but we're just about to lose him."

"What else is at that intersection?" he asked.

"A parking lot, a market, a motel..."

John appeared at his side, "Could be where he's holed up."

"I got this," The man said, about to turn and leave, but his friend called after him, "Oliver. Why don't you let me handle this one? It's just recon."

He hesitated for a moment, "Fine. But I'm going as your backup."

The two then left together.

After silence filled the room, Barry could see Felicity watching them go, worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry," he tried to assure her, "I'll figure out what's wrong with Oliver."

"You'd be the first."

* * *

Barry was working on creating a mask for Oliver from scratch while awaiting his blood test results, but first he had to let the mixture of sorts heat up for awhile so it would be pliable enough to shape to his specifications. He hoped the man would like it when it was finished.

He could tell Felicity was concerned by how quiet she was at the moment.

"You're really worried about him, huh?"

She gave a very slight nod, "He takes crazy chances." The blonde paused, before adding, "Even when he's not hallucinating about beautiful island girls."

"Hmm..." Barry heard the hint of jealousy in her words. Not to mention, he had been there when Oliver told her that a girl named Shado had been on the island with him.

While he hadn't met this Sara person, he recalled reading an article about how Oliver had apparently smuggled his girlfriend's sister on board the Queen's Gambit with him, which was harsh, but there has been supposedly no survivors from the wreck, which he now knew was not accidental, but rigged by the late Malcolm Merlyn.

Still, he had seen Sara Lance's picture on the news when the ship sank, and if she was the same Sara stuck on the island with Oliver, then he had to agree she was indeed pretty...

But there was no way Felicity could know that that the other girl had been beautiful too.

Either she was just speculating that she was, or she _did_ have more than platonically friendly feelings for the hero that she was denying.

Honestly, he couldn't blame her.

Deciding to investigate his hunch a little further, he began, "The other night, I asked you if you liked Oliver."

"I told you, I don't."

He would have accused her of lying, but she seemed so sure of her own statement.

"I remember," the brunette said, "But, if... you _did_ , I could see why." He struggled to explain himself, "I mean, _Oliver Queen_. He is a billionaire by day, and he saves the city by night. What's not to love?"

She laughed, "Sounds like you want to date him."

Barry's ears turned red, and he let out a short chuckle, hoping to conceal the nervousness he felt at her words. "I just have a...little experience, with liking someone who doesn't see you the same way." he sighed, before checking his watch and realizing the news would be on about now.

He quickly turned on the laptop.

 _"Protests continue into the final countdown for tonight's ignition of S.T.A.R. Labs' controversial accelerator. S.T.A.R. Labs founder, Harrison Wells, promises a new era of scientific advancement is at hand."_

Disappointment flooded him.

"Guess I won't be back in time to see them turn it on."

* * *

Barry's words were still ringing in his ears.

Psychological.

The tactile hallucinations were in his head, touching Shado in the hallway, fighting with Slade and practically destroying the Foundry as he did so, the Warfarin hadn't caused any of it...

Was he losing his mind?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Felicity calling his name, her voice was shocked, worried, and that immediately had him on edge.

"What is it?" He joined her side.

"Cyrus Gold... the police ambushed him and he..." She shook her head, "Three dead, the others critically injured, including Quentin Lance. He's in the ICU."

 _Shit._

This was all his fault.

* * *

 _"Come on, Roy. Hey, I am not leaving anyone else to die!"_ He was acting crazy, shaking the boy, yelling at him, doing chest compressions, trying desperately to just get him to open his damn eyes. _"You're strong, Kid. Come on! Come on! Come on, Roy! Fight. Come on, fight! Roy?!"_

* * *

Oliver hadn't thought that it would actually work, he just knew that he wouldn't be responsible for the death of someone else he cared about, he couldn't be, and he certainly couldn't bear to see Thea's face if she found out her first love was dead.

 _Fucking Mirakuru._

He also couldn't believe that Roy had actually survived, but he had, and Oliver had to make sure he kept a close eye on the kid from now on, just in case...

Then he and Diggle were discussing the fact that the man in the skull mask, whoever he was, was preparing an army of super soldiers for an as of yet unknown war.

Always a fun prospect.

That was when he noticed a certain lack of chatty forensic scientist in his hideout.

"Where's Barry?"

Felicity gave a little shrug, "He went back to Central City, wanted to get home in time to see them turn on the particle accelerator."

Oh.

He hadn't waited to say goodbye.

It bothered Oliver more than it should have, and he wondered why. Eventually, he figured it must have been because he never got a chance to thank Barry for his help with Gold, or for saving his life.

That must have been the reason.

Felicity's phone was ringing then, and she grinned, "Speak of the Devil..." she told them with a soft chuckle, "I should take this." She answered the call, "Hi."

 _"Hey."_

"Did you make it?" she asked.

 _"I, uh, yeah, I made it back to Central City in time, but I missed the cut off in line at S.T.A.R. Labs."_ He told her. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had made it on time, but then Iris and the thief... Well, he didn't want to go into that. _"I was late, as usual,"_ he told her, with a slight laugh in his voice.

She giggled.

 _"But in the spirit of not being late again, uh, if you ever decide that Oliver Queen isn't the right guy for you; if you decide that you want to go on a date with someone else, um... you should know that that guy, he'll be on time."_

"Good to know," Felicity smiled brightly.

He knew it was ridiculous to try this, it would be Iris all over again, or worse, he or Felicity would end up getting hurt.

But neither of them could be with Oliver, even if they wanted to (he would deny that he did, as would she), and they clicked really well...

 _"Oh, hey,"_ He said suddenly, _"And I, uh, I left something for Oliver. I hope he likes it."_

"Bye, Barry."

 _"Bye, Felicity."_

The blonde girl hung up her cell phone and looked down at the little box sitting on the desk. From the looks of it, Barry had made it himself somehow - out of newspaper headlines talking about the Vigilante.

Amazing.

She stood up, and looked over her shoulder to see both Diggle and Oliver watching her.

Beaming, Felicity gestured for him to come over.

He did, "What did he want?"

"In so many words?" Felicity asked, deciding not to tell him exactly what the conversation had been about, "Merry Christmas." She pushed the box across the table to him.

She might have been Jewish, but even she had to appreciate a thoughtful present from a friend.

Oliver looked at her for a moment, he seemed startled, given that he hadn't exactly been civil towards Barry while he was there, but it didn't surprise the computer tech at all, despite having only just met him a short while ago, she could tell that he had a good heart.

After a moment, he picked up the box, and his eyebrow quirked upward slightly when he noticed the creative decorations adorning it. Lifting the lid up and placing it underneath the box, he stared at it's contents.

A mask.

It _looked_ like like dark black-green leather, but somehow he knew that wasn't it. Carbon polymer? Polyester? Some sort of synthetic fiber... or perhaps a combination of different materials. What was it Barry had suggested he used before? Something about micro compressible materials? It looked like he had hand made his gift for Oliver.

A strange feeling that came over him was hard to place, but he definitely felt _something_.

Touched.

Felicity helped him put it on without him even asking her to, and when it was adjusted properly onto his face, he was shocked to realize that it fit perfectly, and it didn't irritate his vision at all.

"How do I look?" he asked, uncertainly.

She smiled at him, "Like a hero."

* * *

Early into the A.M., Oliver and Felicity were still trying to track down leads on the freak in the skull mask when Diggle came rushing it.

"Have you guys seen the news today?" He asked, sounding...odd.

"No, why? Is something going on?"

John's expression turned dark, and for a moment his eyes were fixed on Felicity, before he turned back to his friend/boss, "You know that whole particle accelerator thing that was going on with S.T.A.R. Labs back in Central City yesterday?"

He did, he remembered hearing Felicity and Barry having a pros verses cons debate about it shortly before he left to go see it turned on.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Something went wrong, like, horribly wrong, last night... There was some sort of malfunction with a storm and the cooling system..." He took a deep breath, "It blew up."

Oliver stiffened at that and Felicity's hands froze mid-keystroke, spinning around in her chair to face him, _"What?"_

"I wanted to tell you in person," Diggle said quietly, knowing how much she cared for the boy despite having only recently met him.

"Apparently seventeen people were killed in the explosion. Dozens others are in the hospital with second and third degree burns from the blast, or in the ICU in critical condition."

A darkness seemed to fall over the room, making the temperature drop suddenly.

"Oh, _my God_. I-I have to... Barry, I need to call..." Felicity just managed to get the words out, before she was scrambling for her phone, not even realizing that she was shaking horribly until Oliver had grabbed her hands to stop her, since she appeared to be on the verge of a panic attack.

"I have to see if he's alright!" Sure, he had missed the cut off line to see it in person, but that didn't mean he was _okay_.

" _Felicity_ ," the tone of voice he used got both of their attention, "I already called Central City PD on the way over here."

"And?!"

"The same storm that caused the malfunction shattered all of the glass in the forensics lab above the police station," Diggle answered, his voice was grave, "Barry was struck by lightning, Felicity... He's in a coma."

Oliver barely heard his friend let out a distressed cry, hugging onto his arm in a death-grip, clearly distraught by the news.

He... didn't know how to feel.

The first emotion he could identify was anger, no, more than that, _rage_.

He wanted to break something.

It wasn't fair that a vibrant, quirky, lively and brilliant young man like Barry, kind and non-judgemental, was fighting for his life while human garbage like Skull Mask and other monsters continued to pollute the planet, and his city, with their filth.

Aside from that, he also felt worry.

Mostly on behalf of Felicity, because despite the jealousy that he refused to acknowledge, he knew that she cared for him a lot.

Then there was something akin to grief.

He hadn't thanked the kid for the mask, for saving him... or for _anything_.

Now he might never get the chance.

It wasn't right.

* * *

 **God, I need to stop finishing these chapters at six in the morning, it's murder on my eyes.**

 **But I hope, ignoring my whining, you leave a review and let me know what you thought so far! What did you like, what didn't you like? What do you think should happen next? Be sure to tell me so I can improve as I keep going!**


	4. The Past

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

It was January 15th, 2014.

Over a month had gone by and yet they were still no closer to figuring out who the guy wearing the skull mask was, a fact that was leaving Oliver in a more agitated mood than usual.

When he returned to the hideout, he found Diggle watching the news on one of Felicity's computers.

 _"A spokesman for the Central City mayor's office confirmed the lack of any damage or radioactive fallout from the explosion that rocked S.T.A.R. Labs five weeks ago-"_

"Is Felicity not back yet?" He questioned, not seeing the perky blonde computer tech anywhere in their lab.

His friend shook his head in response, "She said she wanted to spend a few more days with Barry."

Oliver sighed, knowing things would be more difficult with just the two of them, before asking, "Any improvement in his condition?"

"No. He's still comatose."

The vigilante frowned slightly at that.

Barry was so young, and _good_. It just wasn't right that he had to be going through something like this, even if he wasn't consciously aware of what was going on at the moment.

He recalled hearing Felicity talking on and on about lightning statistics shortly after Barry had gotten hit - she was really worried about him after all. What had she said? Right, that the chances of getting struck by lightning even once in your lifetime was one in three thousand.

"Actually, Felicity was worried that he might be getting worse."

Confused, Oliver tilted his head, "If there's been no change in his condition, why would she think that?"

Turning completely to face him, Diggle decided to just let him in on the blonde's suspicions, "She found out he had been moved from the hospital, and when no one would answer questions due to her not being family, she did some searching. Apparently, the kid was moved to S.T.A.R. Labs, apparently the CEO - the one responsible for the particle accelerator disaster - contacted his foster family and got their permission, the "Why?" she couldn't figure out though."

Well, that certainly was _odd_ , but not necessarily something to be concerned about...

It didn't have to mean that Barry's condition was worsening, perhaps it was just the actions of a man who felt guilty for his creation negatively affected so many people, and he was trying to make up for it in little ways.

But if Felicity was concerned, then he would let her do her digging around, if it made her feel some form of comfort with what was going on with her friend.

It wasn't like he could really do anything to stop her, anyways.

Despite the somewhat dark undertones when he looked at it now, Oliver still wore the mask that the kid had made him, not only because it was more convenient, but as a way to honor him, of sorts. He reminded himself with it that the boy would wake up eventually, and when he did, he could finally thank Barry for the thoughtful gift...

Feeling the need to change the subject for Oliver's sake, Diggle proceeded to ask him how it went that evening.

"Same as every other pointed conversation I have with these _lowlives_ in Crescent Circle." He muttered, "Nobody has seen a man in a skull mask." He went to put away his bow, "But he's still out there..."

John watched his boss pace around, a look of concern crossing his features, "Oliver, for the past five weeks, you've pushed yourself pretty hard looking for this guy."

"He has the Mirakuru, Diggle!" Oliver snapped, spinning around to look at him, "I mean, you saw what it took to kill _one guy_ that had been injected. We practically had to drop a building on top of him!" He shook his head, "So imagine ten, or a hundred. Imagine a thousand."

"You said Roy was injected?" Diggle asked him.

"Yeah."

The older man put a hand on Oliver's shoulder, hoping he didn't overstep his boundaries, "I've just never seen you spooked like this before, man."

Looking down at the hand, before back up at his friend, he sighed, "I should tell you something," he said, reaching to grab his grey overcoat from where it was tossed over a chair.

This would not be a fun conversation.

He really hoped the Mirakuru wouldn't affect Roy negatively

But then again, he'd never really been lucky.

* * *

Thank God Felicity had come back early.

Not that Diggle wasn't skilled in many ways, technology just happened to... not be one of those ways, and right now they needed all the help they could get with this bomber case.

Even though she was back and ready to work, he couldn't help but notice she wasn't her usual cheery self, and had a feeling he knew why, "How's Barry?"

Her smile tightened, "Ah, he's...still sleeping."

Seeing the raised eyebrow look Diggle gave her, she elaborated, "I prefer sleeping to coma, cause coma sounds... you know, _not fun_."

Despite her half-hearted attempt a humor, she could see the lingering sadness in her eyes.

He didn't really blame her.

Just as long as her thinly-masked grief didn't interfer with her ability to do her job, as far as he was concerned, she could have as much time as she needed to come to terms with her friend's condition.

* * *

Oliver was _furious_.

He knew he had no right to be, he knew as the words were coming out of his mouth, as he saw Felicity's expression morph into one of hurt and anger, that it wasn't her fault. She wasn't like him, he couldn't expect her to just bottle up her emotions until she blew up like he did.

Just because the island had made him into something nearly unrecognizable, he couldn't expect everyone to be the same way.

He couldn't blame her for being preoccupied.

As he paced around the Foundry, trying to suppress his rage, he thought, _Barry, this is all your fault._

Then, of course, came the immediate slamming guilt. It hit him with the force of a tidal wave crashing against the shoreline, so powerful in fact that if it were to manifest physically than it probably would have knocked him right off of his feet.

He felt like shit for just letting that thought cross his mind.

It may not have been Felicity's fault, but it certainly wasn't _Barry's_ either.

How could it be?

The kid was in a coma, and he had been for over a month.

It was possible what Diggle had been insinuating was true, maybe he had been a little jealousy of the way Felicity and Barry had connected, but that was his problem, not hers. And it wasn't really fair of him to get angry at her for being upset that her friend (were they even only friends?) was in the hospital in a critical state.

This was something he was just going to have to learn to deal with.

Shaking his head, trying to shrug off the sudden heavy weight on his shoulders, he made a silent prayer to a deity he wasn't entirely sure even existed, to wake the CSI up.

Maybe then, things would go back to normal, or their version of normal at least, and his friend would be okay again.

* * *

The man known as the Arrow had a lot on his mind.

He had already decided that he couldn't keep focusing on Laurel - he couldn't let her be his _weakness_ any longer, but there was more to it then that. That was why he had called Sara, because it may have not been his responsibility to take care of her, but it was hers.

At least, in a way.

She may have been the vigilante's blindspot, but she was also in pain. The alcohol, the drugs, it was all just a mask she was hiding behind, not unlike his own, and if Oliver could, he was going to help her. Not as a protector or an ex-lover, but as a _friend_.

Then there was Roy...

When he first heard from Thea what had happened, how he'd nearly beaten a man into a coma (never mind the fact that he was a serial killer), he knew.

He knew for certain that the Mirakuru was starting to take over, he could only hope that he had intercepted in time to teach him how to control it - not just the strength, but the rage that went along with it. If he could, then maybe hope wasn't lost for him after all.

Still, if there was anything he was glad about, it was putting the issue of the man in the Skull Mask behind him. With Daily dead, hopefully the serum would stay gone for good.

It had never been his intention to reveal his true identity to that kid, but he had no other choice in that moment. All he could think of was what another earthquake would do to his city. If it had gone off, it probably wouldn't have left the undamaged half in tact.

Thankfully, it seemed as though Roy was willing to keep both of their secrets for now, because the less Thea knew, the better.

For now, anyways.

* * *

Every single day it seemed like Oliver's life was getting more and more complicated, not less.

Calling Sara had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he was beginning to have his doubts. With that woman Nyssa in town, he gotten the feeling that things would only get more difficult. And he'd been right. He had so much on his plate.

If it hadn't been training Roy or lying to Thea or disowning his mother, then it would have been about his re-kindled relationship (if it could even be called that) with Sara, or his issues with Laurel, keeping his identity a secret and trying to make sure Starling was safe, then whatever was going on with Felicity...

But at least with Nyssa gone, one problem was taken care of.

He really hadn't liked the idea of a bunch of trained murderers running around and kidnapping people in order to get to their flighty ex-member anyways.

Speaking of which, witnessing the two assassins kiss had brought up a lot of emotions in him.

Confusion, for one, because as far as he had always known, Sara was straight. But then again, they found out on the island that you never really know somebody, until you _know_ them. Perhaps a bit of anger or jealousy, but also suspicion - because he had known that Laurel being poisoned at the same time as her arrival was definitely not coincidental.

Snake venom wasn't exactly a common poison to spike someone's drink with.

It had also brought up old memories of his, ones that he had pushed to the very corners of his mind. His early teens, which had been spent mostly figuring out what girls were even for and how much fun an unlimited credit card and a fake ID could be.

But also, it made him think of Tommy.

About how much fun they had together, and while their relationship had been rocky up until their reconciliation on his death bed, they were like brothers.

But it hadn't always been that way.

True, his best friend had, prior to the destruction of the Queen's Gambit, half jokingly threatened him with death if he ever tried to discuss the things they had done together, as in, _ever_. Curiosity or not, Oliver had been the one to instigate it, at the age of fourteen when girls were just so _complicated_ and he began having feelings that he wasn't too sure whether or not he wanted to explore.

While, true to his word, they had never discussed it again, he knew it was something neither of them had ever forgotten, and yet things never became awkward between them (not for that reason anyway), it was just the type of friendship they had, the one that took nearly two decades to build up.

Thinking about the past was painful, for more reasons than one, and it was as he and Sara got ready to track down Nyssa Al Ghul before she could do anymore harm to the Lance family, that he decided perhaps some memories were just better left untouched.

* * *

 **Okay, so I know this chapter was kind of short and muddled, but honestly? I don't think I could write a chapter for every episode in between "The Scientist" and "The Calm", even if I wanted to. The next chapter will probably be about Barry's condition, family, etc.**

 **I hope not to do a ton of timeskips, but there will be at least a couple so things don't get too boring, kay?**


	5. Heroes

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Sebastian wasn't accustomed to fear.

Yes, he had things that made him uncomfortable or wary, but being _afraid?_ That was for children, when they were still young enough to believe that the darkness cloaked monsters and demons. Fear, he found, was what kept you from truly enjoying your life.

He had promised himself that he wouldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let fear control _him_. He wouldn't let living slow him down.

And he didn't.

The young man feared nothing - at least, that's what he thought.

He wasn't bothered by the absence of light, or heights, or insects, or even the thought of death. After all, he had come to terms with the fact that no one lived forever when he was just a young boy. Besides, fear was weakness, and being weak meant that others would see you were vulnerable, and they would take advantage of you, leave you hurt and broken and alone.

It was something he'd seen happen to his own brother (even if that was partially his fault), he knew the consequences of it, and he was not going to let himself become a victim as well.

Fear was useless.

So no, it wasn't an emotion he experienced very often.

That wasn't to say that there weren't other things that bothered him, because there absolutely were. Actually, he could be quite easily irritated if you knew his biggest pet peeves, not that he would show you. For example, he hated self-righteous and judgemental idiots, pandering, nationalism, hypocrisy, and so on...

Just because he didn't often feel fear, it didn't mean he was without flaws. That was the furthest from the true, and he'd be the first to admit it. He was well aware that his cynical, and rather jaded outlook on life was quite offputting. He was unable to maintain a steady relationship (though that was more of a personal choice), and despite having several close friends whom he had graduated with, he still found it hard to open up to others.

Allowing yourself to become vulnerable in front of others also left you wide open to an attack, after all.

But, then again, there was always one person whom he had allowed to see his softer side...

His younger brother.

That's what made this so difficult, seeing him laying motionless on that hospital bed.

Barry was pale, and that was saying something, given how naturally fair-skinned the two of them were. Not that it was because they avoided the sun or anything, but because it was in their blood. They were of mixed heritage - English, Welsh, German, Irish... Being light-skinned was pretty much a necessity in their family.

 _This_ was different, though.

Standing over him, silently, Sebastian couldn't help but think _he looks like a corpse._

Almost instantly, he felt sick with himself at the morbid pessimism that he was unable to keep it bottled inside. Images of his mother's open-casket funeral assaulted his memory, before her face was replaced with one of his brother, and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought.

Taking a deep, calming breath that really did nothing to help, he reached down to take his twin's hand in his own, and while the tiny electric shock the touch gave him was no longer surprising at this point, he did still jolt a little at the sensation.

It kept happening; that was why the elder of the two doubted that this was an ordinary lightning-caused coma, as if there were such a thing.

He was sure the particle accelerator bullshit had something to do with it, just had a feeling that the whole incident wasn't what it appeared to be. The city had been fucked up for months, and either everyone else in Central City was too stupid to see it, or just so far in denial that they were ignoring the obvious signs.

Whatever that explosion had done, bad things were happening because of it. Freak storms, impossible crimes being committed, people allegedly running around on fire. Crime was up more than it ever had been, and he doubted it was just because people were grieving over how many had been lost in the malfunction.

After all, something had happened to him that night, too.

Over four months had passed, and he remembered it so clearly...

* * *

It was getting close to Christmas, and while Sebastian really didn't care much for holidays or religion in general, he felt compelled to visit his brother, for the first time in nearly two years. Sure, they had kept in touch via emails, phone calls and even the occasional Skype video chat, but ever since he'd left for Paris as a teenager instead of staying with Barry and Joe and - _ugh_ \- Iris, the two of them hadn't been seeing eye to eye.

Something just told him it was time to put the past behind them, and so he had boarded a flight, and arrived at his younger brother's apartment with a suitcase in one hand and a present in the other. But Barry wasn't there, so he called him.

No answer.

Figuring he was probably at work, because of course Barry wasn't the type to take vacation days in the weeks leading up to Christmas, he proceeded to let himself in with his spare key, i.e. a paperclip, tension wrench and a pair of pliers (yes, he carried those with him).

After making room in Barry's home of geekdom and leaving the present on his kitchen table, he'd slipped his coat back on - considering it looked like it would rain - and headed off towards the police station.

What he didn't expect was to find the place nearly deserted, but a quick glance at the news told him all he needed to.

Some kind of manhunt for some robbers and blah blah blah, he couldn't care less.

A semi-familiar looking man came up to him then and shoved some a box of crap into his hands and told him to get busy, and it had taken extreme restraint on his part not to tell the guy off, but it had occured to him that it was probably Barry's boss, mistaking him for his brother.

They _were_ identical after all, and it wasn't like it had been the first time this happened.

He asked someone else if he had seen Barry, only to be told he was _maybe_ upstairs.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Sebastian had begun trudging his way up the stairs to the forensics lab, when he heard the crash of thunder above, and the power went out, and a wave of dizziness washed over him before he lost consciousness.

 _Something_ happened, but he wasn't sure what.

When he came to, he was laying on the floor, lights and faces above him, voices shouting all around, giving him a throbbing headache.

 _"-st be Allen's brother, West mentioned him before a couple of times."_

 _"What the hell happened to him?"_

 _"Should we bring him outside? The medics haven't left yet."_

 _"He's waking up, I don't think it's more than a minor concussion, kid's lucky."_

 _"Betcha he won't feel that way for long."_

Sebastian had managed to quickly brush off his disorientation, sitting up and snapping at the patrol officers to back off and give him some room, wondering what had happened. Had he fallen? That seemed unlikely, he wasn't clumsy like Barry, and he didn't have any condition that caused fainting spells.

Hmm...

That was when he noticed that the station looked positively _trashed_.

People all around seemed to be in a panic, pieces of the ceiling were laying on the floor in huge chunks, the phones were ringing off the hook, a woman was crying into one of the cops' shoulders.

Clearly he'd been out for a bit of time.

"What the fuck is going on?' He asked, reaching up to touch the top of his head, wincing in pain as he pulled his hand back, seeing the sticky, warm blood covering his fingers.

Mild concussion his _ass_.

"There was some sort of meltdown at S.T.A.R. Labs during that ceremony they were holding," Someone had responded while helping him to his feet, but he didn't remember the guy's face. "The whole city's in a state of panic, they're saying a freak storm caused a malfunction."

For once, Sebastian was actually thankful for the fact that his brother seemed to be constantly late for everything, he was so damn slow, and considering this was the nerdiest and most anticipated event in Central this year that Barry _could no_ t shut up about, if he had been there it was likely with his horrible luck he would have been among the casualties.

"My brother, is he alright?" To most people, that would have sounded like a bizarre question, considering he rarely showed concern for anyone. However, no one at the precinct seemed particularly surprised, probably figuring it was totally natural for one brother to be worried for another.

However, it was the expressions on their faces that had him instantly alert despite the black dots dancing in front of his vision.

"What's going on? What are you not telling me?"

A firm hand grasped his shoulder and he turned, to see Joe standing there. His stance was worn out, eyes red rimmed from crying and... was that _blood_ on his uniform?

Yep, some serious shit had definitely gone down.

"Is that-"

"It's not Barry's blood, Sebastian." The tone that he used made it clear it wasn't Joe's though, either, and that who ever it belonged to wasn't going home to their family that night. He guessed the woman from earlier was either crying because she knew one of the victims, or she was having PMS.

He didn't know, and quite franky he didn't care either.

Stepping away from the officer, the young man crossed his arms, a habit of his when he was trying to appear intimidating, authorative, or uncaring, "Good to know. So where is my brother, Officer West?" His voice was forcefully nonchalant.

"Hospital."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees when he heard that, "I thought you said he was _okay?_ " Joe hadn't said that, Sebastian knew very well he never said Barry was fine, though he still had been hoping to hear agreement from the man.

But he didn't get it.

Trying to keep his expression cool, and calm, the university student stared at him, glancing at the officers giving him pitying looks, which just pissed him off to no end. "Someone just fucking tell me what happened already!"

"He was struck by lightning."

Those five words had turned his entire world upside down.

* * *

"Can I help you, Mr. Smythe?"

Sebastian plastered a smirk on his face as he turned to face the man - Cisco - giving him an appreciative look as his eyes swept over the Mexican man's slim form, a feeling of satisfaction bubbled up inside of him when he saw the discomfort on his face, even though at this point he had to be more than used to flirtation.

Honestly, he just did it to make him uncomfortable. He knew the guy wasn't even remotely gay, but he didn't like to be bothered on his visits to see Barry, he preferred the solitude, so he could let his guard down without anyone being aware of it.

Making people annoyed or uncomfortable with him was a special talent that he reserved for when he wanted them to go away.

"I'd like to say yes, Mr. Ramon, but unfortunately our incompatible orientations would be an issue." He said, in a falsely cheerful voice. "I'm just here to see my brother," seeing the frown on the engineer's face, he wondered if something was wrong, "How is his condition these days?"

Cisco shifted his weight, looking slightly perplexed by the question, for whatever reason. It wasn't like he hadn't asked it every other time he came to S.T.A.R. Labs. "You mean... no one told you?"

A surge of panic slammed into him before he could stop it, the worst case scenarios running through his head.

What could have happened?

It had been just over a month since the last time he visited...

"Is he..." No, he might have been a pessmist (or a realist, as he called himself), but he couldn't just jump to conclusions, despite knowing the statistics. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, man. Barry woke up, like, two days ago."

It might have been selfish, but Sebastian felt a twinge of anger and disappointment curl within him. It was nearly overwhelmed with by the amount of relief he also felt, but it was still there, bubbling just beneath the surface.

Barry was awake, and he hadn't even bothered to call - no one had.

He was pissed off.

* * *

It was a fraction of a second after Barry opened the door and saw his own face glaring back at him that he slammed it shut, or at least he _tried_ to.

With his newly discovered super speed, he should have been able to before the other man could even realize what was going on.

But this was _Sebastian_.

His older brother had always been one step ahead of him, had always been able to predict his thoughts and his movements before he was even consciously aware of them. Logically speaking, the rate at which he tried to close the door should have cut off the other's hand with the force, and yet he managed to not only stop it, but force it open easily.

" _Barry Henry Allen._ "

Uh oh... he had used _that_ tone.

How, at twenty five years old, his brother could still manage to render him frozen and silent with just the way he said his name, Barry had no idea, but it had been something he was able to accomplish at a very early age, being the older twin, which he never let the younger forget, _ever_.

At least he hadn't called him by his full first name.

"Hey, Seb... I can explain." The speedster decided to try.

Actually, he couldn't.

How could he possibly explain that he'd been so overwhelmed by what he had found out about himself in the past few days that it had completely slipped his mind to call him?

"It had better be a damn good explanation," Sebastian snapped, kicking the door shut with the heel of his shoe, arms crossed in front of his chest. His face was twisted in an angry scowl, but Barry could easily see passed it, see the hurt, the confusion. "Or you're going to wish you were still comatose. Not calling your own _twin_ to tell him you woke up..."

"Look, I was going to call you, I promise."

 _Lie._

"There was just so much going on that the last couple of days have been a complete blur."

 _Truth._

"Fine," Sebastian looked around Barry's apartment, believing him due to the fact that he could read his brother like a book. His irritation dulled a bit, a playful gleam in his eyes, "Looks like Nerdvana in here. I guess nearly dying hasn't changed the fact that you're still a _massive geek_."

"Good to see you too," The younger boy muttered, sarcastically under his breath, "How long did you say you were in Central City for?"

A wide grin appeared on his face, "I didn't, but I did take a week off. Though, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were eager to get rid of me, B."

Oh, great.

* * *

Barry didn't have the best recollection of what happened the night he was struck by the lightning. Despite his high intellect and eidetic memory, everything was a little fuzzy and unclear.

A few events stuck out in his mind, however:

Taking the train back to Central City from Starling.

Attempting to see the Particle Accelerator turn on with Iris, only for her to get robbed of her bag and him missing the cut off line while trying to get it back.

His phone conversation with Felicity, hoping that maybe something more could come out of their friendship.

Reminding her about the gift he left behind for Oliver.

After that... the storm.

Rain leaking through to his lab... him attempting to close the overhead windows to keep it dry.

A flash of light in the sky, a crackle of thunder, and then the hair on his neck and arms rose, he could smell the electricity in the air, feel the heat on his skin, the oxygen was knocked out of his lungs - he couldn't breathe, there was a sensation of being weightless...

Then _nothing_ , until he woke up in S.T.A.R. Labs.

* * *

Oliver couldn't even begin to understand just why the forensics assistant wanted to meet with him.

It was amazing that the kid was awake, of course, and Felicity would no doubt be thrilled to hear the news, but why he'd requested to meet _him_ \- this late at night no less - was a mystery.

What sort of advice could he possibly need?

For one, it probably wasn't a good idea. They could have met up at a coffee shop or something, and it was risky for a civillian, even one from another city, to be seen with the Arrow, it could put him in danger. But he still needed to run patrols for the evening.

He got the feeling this conversation would become personal, so he had Roy split up with him for the evening while Diggle spent a little more time with Lyla at the hospital, they were busy arguing about baby names anyways, and the plan was to meet back at the Foundry when they were all finished.

As for Felicity... well, he didn't want to think about that too much right now. He knew he'd fucked up badly with her, and after their disastrous first date, and that kiss... he needed to get his head back in the game, and to do that he couldn't be focusing on relationships, especially not with someone who he could lose at any time due to the danger they all faced together.

While the former CEO was looking out into the night, lost in thought, it happened.

A distinct whooshing sound, followed by a sudden and unexpected gust of wind.

The archer whipped around instantly, his hand reaching behind him, ready to grab an arrow from his quiver, when he saw who was standing there, partially obscured by the shadows.

Barry Allen.

How the hell had he gotten up there without him even noticing? Surely he would have heard the kid running up the stairs, he wasn't exactly... _balanced_ , from what he remembered last year. Actually, he recalled him being quite awkward and clumsy most of the time.

"Hey..." The younger man began, giving him a half wave, "Um, hi, Oliver. How's it going?"

Really?

 _"Oliver, is that Barry?!"_ He winced at Felicity yelping through his earpiece, and turned the volume down on it so he wouldn't hear her. It was rude, but necessary. He got the feeling that whatever Barry was about to ask him advice on would be personal, and commentary was probably not what he was looking for.

"It's going," the vigilante responded, as the former coma patient stepped out of the dark, and when Oliver got a good look at him, he did a double take at the kid's appearance.

Barry didn't seem like himself.

Obviously, it was him. He had the same messy brunette hair, pale skin, tall and slim frame, not to mention the baby face.

It was his eyes.

They were different... not bright with the intelligence he possessed like the first time he had met him. Instead, they were haunted - as though he'd just been chased a thousand miles by the ghosts of his past, something Oliver himself was personally familiar with. No doubt about it, the kid had been crying, and if the dry tears on his cheeks hadn't given it away, his pained expression would have anyways.

"Barry..." He took a few steps towards him, "What happened?"

He didn't bother asking if he was okay, because the answer to _that_ was obvious.

"I-I... The lightning, it _did_ something to me." Barry blurted out in a somewhat strangled tone, wrapping his arms around himself, a shiver ran through him as the wind picked up.

That didn't sound good, had there been lingering damage when he woke up?

"You mean besides putting you in a coma?" Oliver asked, dryly, trying to lighten the mood a bit, before questioning him, "Why aren't you wearing a jacket?"

The young man shook his head, and began pacing back and forth, running his fingers through his hair, "Of course _you_ would notice that. You notice _everything_. I was wearing one, for the record. It sort of caught on fire... but that's not the point. The Particle Accelerator caused the storm, and the storm-" He cut himself off abruptly, "I really, _really_ screwed up, Oliver. I was just trying to help, but I didn't see the car until it was too late, and... the man _died_."

It seemed like the more he spoke, the more hysterical his words became, and pretty soon he couldn't even make out what exactly the kid was trying to tell him, because his sentences were running together. The archer was confused, both by what Barry was saying, and by the way he was presenting himself.

He looked like he was about to fall to pieces, and while Oliver certainly understood what it felt like to be _barely_ holding yourself together, he didn't understand what was causing his sort-of-friend to act this way.

Now he was talking about fire and cars and dying and _what?_

"Slow down, take a breath, and tell me what's going on. Start from the beginning."

Barry took a deep, shaky breath, and stopped his pacing, he tried to think of what to say, but couldn't come up with the words. Sighing, he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, picking at the seams, wondering if it was to stop himself from coming unwravelled like a spool of thread.

"I... woke up at S.T.A.R. Labs, and the owner - Dr. Wells - he told me that the lightning had changed me, but we didn't realize until later how _much_. He said that the doctors thought I kept flatlining but really my heart was too fast for the ECG to read. It sounded crazy, I left... and then weird things started to happen."

It already sounded weird to him, and still didn't make much sense, but the man stayed silent, allowing the other to continue.

"Time seemed to be slowing down around me, Oliver," Barry shook his head at how crazy that was, "I watched a man under arrest reach for his gun and stopped him before the police even realized what he was doing. I saw a waitress drop a tray in slow motion, like a movie. And then when I ran, I somehow slammed myself through the rear windshield of a cop cruiser." The forensics specialist let out a slightly high-pitched laugh, "The Particle Accelerator explosion... it gave me _super speed_."

Oliver stared at him.

That... was absolutely insane, and by the look on the young man's face he knew exactly how it sounded, and yet... it wasn't _that_ difficult to believe. If WWII Japanese soldiers could invent a serum that gave its users enhanced strength, endurance and healing, was anything really impossible?

"You don't believe me," Barry stated quietly, seeming to misunderstand his silence, "I don't blame you, most people don't. I lied to you the first time we met, after all. But it's true... I sorta ran here from Central City by accident, Oliver, it took me under a half an hour."

That was over _1500_ _miles_.

Barry didn't even look tired.

Despite the bizarre situation, the vigilante managed to speak, "I believe you."

The look of shock on his face was palpable, "I... you'd be the only one. Except Dr. Wells, Dr. Snow and Mr. Ramon... but they saw it first hand. T-They think that I might hold the key to saving the world," he laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "Apparently my freaky DNA means they could, I don't know, reverse-engineer cures from my blood or something."

If anyone could do it, it _would_ be them.

"Well, hey, that doesn't sound like such a bad thing," Oliver told the younger male, because honestly, if something good came out of it why did he seem so upset? Super speed wasn't near the worst thing that the lightning could have done to him, after all.

Unless...

"You said something about a car accident, though?"

At that, Barry's shoulders slumped, "I wasn't the only one affected. There are other Meta-Humans in Central City, and I found one of them."

He interjected, " _Meta-Human?_ " his voice was incredulous, because _what the fuck_ was that?

"That's what they're calling me, them... _us_ , I guess. Story of my life." He muttered bitterly, "Never was normal. Everyone thought I was a loser in school, you know? Just because I was smart. Then, after my mom died... people were afraid of me. Like I had the genes of a murderer inside of me." He choked back a sob, thoughts of his parents bringing back even more pain from his past.

Barry's breathing hitched, and Oliver could swear the kid was about to start crying again, "This bank robber, the police thought he died the night of the explosion, along with his brother, but he survived. He can _control the weather_ ," a weary sigh escaped his lips, "I tried to stop him, but he made fog come out of nowhere - there was a crash, and an innocent man died. I couldn't save him, just like I couldn't save _her_."

Oliver was still going over the whole "controlling the weather" thing in his mind when Barry mentioned that last part, and he watched as the young man slowly fell apart in front of him, tears now freely running down his face, his entire body was shaking...

No, not shaking, _vibrating_.

The kid was _literally_ vibrating, so much so that his form was becoming blurry, it seemed like it only happened because he was so upset, and it was difficult not to stare at him. He had saved his life, and yet now that he was here and in front of him, in obvious emotional pain, the vigilante was drawing a blank at what to do.

Hesitating for a moment, the older man walked over and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Though it certainly felt _odd_ \- Oliver could feel the trembling beneath his fingertips - nothing bad actually happened.

If anything, it appeared to calm Barry down, but to his shock, the young "Metahuman" abruptly _hugged_ him.

A strange feeling that he couldn't quite place washed over him, and it seemed to happen a lot with the kid.

Unsure what to do in this situation (because who could have ever anticipated _this?_ ), he started rubbing slow circles on the scientist's back, until he no longer seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating, his breathing slowed down, as did his vibrations.

Barry mumbled something under his breath that he couldn't quite make out.

"What was that?"

He stepped back, wiping the tears from his eyes, "I said "this is so pathetic"." He repeated, taking another deep breath, though it didn't do much to help, "I called you to ask for your advice. Not to make myself look like an idiot. You know all I've ever wanted to do was help other people? I thought that forensics was the way to go, but it just...never seemed like enough. And then I get this second chance, this _unbelievable_ ability, and I _still_ can't do anything. I've always wanted to be a hero like you, Oliver."

 _Hero_.

It still made him uneasy to hear that. First from Felicity, and now Barry. He didn't know what to say, though, he was speechless. Because how could he possibly explain to Barry that no matter what you do, when it came to a life like the one he was living, there would always be casualties?

"Why did you come to me, Barry?" He questioned the younger man softly, in order to cover up the fact that he really had no idea how to comfort him. "I mean, something tells me you didn't run across four states just to visit a friend." Because that's what they were... _friends_. "I wish I could tell you that this gets better - that the longer it goes on you make less mistakes, but I still struggle with doing this sometimes. And I don't think death is something that you _want_ to get used to..."

When you start accepting that death was inevitable anyways, that you couldn't stop it so you shouldn't even try, that was when you turned into something you can't even recognize.

He'd met monsters like that before.

"My whole life, all I've ever wanted was to, I don't know, do more. _Be_ more." Barry chuckled at the irony of his words, "And now I am, and the first chance I get to help someone, I screw it up." The vigilante pursed his lips, because _that_ sounded familiar. "The bad guy got away and someone died, while he still lives..." He shook his head, "It's not right."

"There's not much that's fair about the world we live in, Kid," Oliver told him, matter-of-factly. It was harsh, but still true. "But in the end, as long as the good you do outweighs the bad, I think it makes everything worth it."

If anything, his words only seemed to deflate the younger man even more, "What if Dr. Wells is right, though? What if I can't be a hero... what if I'm just some guy that was struck by lightning?"

Oliver was silent for a few moments, looking up at the sky, and the stars seemed even brighter than usual, like the night they spoke on the balcony of his old estate. "I don't think that lightning bolt struck you, Barry," he said, so quietly that the other man wasn't quite sure he heard him right, "I think it _chose_ you."

It was unusually deep for him, and while he wasn't sure he believed in a higher power or anything like that, some days it was difficult not to think that destiny was real.

"I'm just not sure I can be like you, Oliver." Barry struggled to express the uncertainty he felt. It seemed like if the universe was going to choose someone, it should have done a better job. At least that's what it seemed like, in his eyes. "I don't know if I can be some kind of...vigilante." As if to make his point clearer, he gestured to the man in front of him.

"You can be better."

The archer turned to look at him, smiling slightly as he saw the confused expression on his face, "Because you can inspire people, in a way that I never could... Watching over your city like a guardian angel, making a difference, saving people... in a flash."

A glance at the time told him he'd already been standing here too long, and as much as he would have liked to help Barry out with his crisis more, there wasn't much else left to say.

Well, maybe one thing...

"Take your own advice, wear a mask."

And then he was leaping off of the building, grappling his way to the next, and once his feet were planted firmly on the wall, he looked over in the direction he'd come from, just in time to watch Barry disappear down the busy streets of Starling City in a blaze of golden lightning.

"Cool."

* * *

 **Not too sure I'm satisfied with this chapter, so I might go back and edit it later. What I am excited to do is freestyle scenes that never took place on the show. I should be getting a new laptop in the next couple of months. The romance is going to begin soon!**

 **Also, while I appreciate feedback from my readers, those of you who have been leaving something like 'update', and that's it, it's frustrating. I like constructive criticism, when you tell me what I did well/what you'd like to see more of, or what was terrible/should be fixed, that's helpful, especially when some stories are harder to write than others. I get happy when someone leaves a response, but when it doesn't tell you anything, when it's just a demand, it's kind of a let down.**


	6. Complicated

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

About a week after Barry and Oliver had their little heart-to-heart on that building's rooftop, the vigilante began recieving frequent text messages from the young man.

They started off normal enough:

 _"How's Felicity and Diggle doing these days?"_

Or,

 _"We should all go out for coffee sometime and catch up!"_

Mostly, Barry would ask him questions, and while he was wary at first to answer them on his cell, it occured to them that as long as he deleted them after it shouldn't be a problem, considering his phone was untraceable, but both were careful about it anyways.

Eventually, it got to the point where they were texting each other almost every day, and Oliver hadn't even realized it until it was pointed out to them. Barry would offer his opinions on certain details of a case that managed to stump even a certain blonde tech, and when he wasn't doing that he was giving the older male detailed updates on what he'd been up to.

The first time he noticed their friendship had become kind of odd when he turned on his phone to be greeted with this:

 _"Do you think it's immoral to keep super-human criminals locked up in your basement?"_

Ignoring the obvious weirdness of the question itself, Barry was asking _him_ what was right and what wasn't? He thought it had to be a joke, until he considered that maybe the speedster was honestly concerned about this. He explained that they wanted to try to rehabilitate these so-called "Metahumans", but considering that so far the people they'd gone up against were violent criminals, he thought it might end up being a futile effort.

Still, he tried to convince Barry that it was for the best. Even if Clyde Mardon had survived, a regular prison wouldn't have been able to hold a man with the ability to control the weather, anyways, so repurposing the Particle Accelerator would probably be necessary.

It was only a few weeks into this new habit that he began to notice the growing concern he felt for Barry, whenever he would hear news in Central City about a 'mysterious red blur' rescuing people, everything from burglaries to suicide attempts and burning buildings.

At one point the kid told him that he was starting to feel guilty about dumping all of his problems on Oliver, but the vigilante himself actually didn't mind it that much.

If he ever had questions for Barry he wouldn't hesitate, but at the moment there wasn't much he could do to help with the issues he was having now. After all, Barry might have had an older brother, but when it came to Oliver's issues, he remembered Felicity mentioning that the only other sibling he had was a foster sister.

Speaking of which, looking for Thea was no cakewalk.

At the moment he didn't know exactly what she was doing in South America, but when he found her he was going to get answers about why she was lying to him, it wasn't like her and he knew something suspicious was going on.

His sister needed to come home, he needed her.

She was the only family he had left.

While he'd planned on flying out to Corto Maltese alone, but before he knew it Roy was volunteering to go along and "make things right", and Diggle wanted to come to because Lyla needed him to check on a friend from A.R.G.U.S., and in the end it was only Felicity that couldn't come, do to her job working for _Ray Palmer_.

Oliver really didn't like that guy.

* * *

No way in hell.

Laurel Lance was out of her Goddamn mind if she actually thought _he_ , Oliver Queen, was going to train her. What did she want from him? For her to teach her to be a killer like he was? Like Sara had been?

That wasn't the kind of life either of them had wanted for her.

Oliver got it though, he really did. She had gone through all of the pain and grief the first time she'd lost her sister, and now all that was left over was a buring rage. But most people, when they were mad, they found some way of getting their aggression out without taking on criminals.

It wasn't safe, and he didn't want to end up having to bury another ex-girlfriend, he wasn't sure he could go through that again.

The thought of danger and friends brought Barry to the forefront of his mind again, and it occurred to him he hadn't heard from the kid since before he'd left on his trip to find Thea (which was successful, thankfully).

A bit worried, not that he would have verbally admitted to it, he sent him a quick text,

 _"How's everything going?"_

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't honestly relieved when it took only a few seconds for Barry to answer back.

 _"Everything's going good! We captured a Metahuman! This one is an assassin who had been put on death row during the time of the explosion. Have you heard of the Darbinyans?"_

Yeah, he'd definitely heard of them.

They were a family of violent criminals.

Wait... Barry had fought a highly trained assassin that also had _super powers?_

Oliver frowned slightly, before sending a message back; _"I know of them. What can this one do?"_ He assumed that the guy was still alive by Barry's use of present tense.

A few seconds passed before his cell phone buzzed again.

 _"He has the power to turn himself into a poison gas due to the combination of drugs he was given while being put to death. We modified one of the chambers in the Pipeline to contain him. He's...very angry. Nearly killed me, and Joe too. You haven't met him yet, but he was my foster father, and is a member of the CCPD. Anyway, Cisco's taken to calling him The Mist."_

Poison gas.

For some reason that that made him feel...uneasy.

 _"And everyone at the Labs is okay with housing a former inmate beneath them?"_

This time Barry was slower to reply, and when he got the next message, he understood why;

 _"Better that than having to kill them."_

A couple of minutes after that, during which he had been debating how to answer, he recieved another text, and upon reading it he couldn't help but chuckle, because even without seeing him in person Oliver could tell the younger man was worried his words would come across as offensive or judgemental.

 _"Not that it's not sometimes necessary, it's just after what happened with Danton Black, it seems the best way to go."_

 _"You know his death wasn't your fault, right? From what you told me, he made a choice not to be saved. You did what you could, Kid, but sometimes people can't move past a tragedy."_

While he didn't get another message again that night, he did hope Barry took his words seriously. If he was too busy feeling responsible over a death he couldn't have prevented (or even known was going to happen), then his mind wouldn't be in the right place to be helping the people that did need it.

As for tragedy, well, he'd had enough of that for a lifetime.

Even Oliver Queen could sometimes sympathize with the bad guys.

* * *

The last person that Oliver ever expected to end up working with again was Nyssa Al Ghul.

It seemed as though when she was first pointing her bow and arrow in his face, she expected Sara to step out of hiding at her presence and reveal that the Arrow and his team had been hiding her.

He honestly wished that was the truth.

An expression of heartache was obvious even on someone as stone cold as the Heir to the Demon. He could see the pain in her dark eyes, the way her shoulders seemed to slump, and how her voice broke the second time she asked where her former lover's body was.

While having Roy track Nyssa's movements, he went out with Thea.

She wouldn't tell him what she had been doing in Corto Maltese, it seemed like she was in a much healthier place than she had been all those months ago before leaving.

For that, he was grateful.

The thought of Malcom Merlyn being back in Sterling pissed him off to no end, and he knew Nyssa would eventually be back to exact her revenge, but for now at least it seemed like they were in the clear.

* * *

 _"Felicity was here."_

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he read of the message, and his lips quirked into a small smile, before he responded that he already knew that.

 _"She told you she was coming to Central City? And you didn't think to give me a heads up?"_

Well, Barry seemed annoyed with him.

Did it not go well, then?

 _"My bad, I thought you would be happy to see her."_

A long delay before the next text popped up.

 _"No! I was, it was just... unexpected. We ended up going on a double date with my friend Iris and her boyfriend, that wasn't uncomfortable or nervewracking at all."_

For some reason he felt a twinge of annoyance when he read that, and shook his head.

It did _not_ bother him that Felicity and Barry spent time together, at least, that's what he kept telling himself...

 _"Sorry. Anything else happen while she was over there?"_

The next reply was still slower than usual, but not as much as the last one,

 _"Well, a thief managed to get his hands on a "cold gun" that a member of S.T.A.R. Labs built specifically for the purpose of stopping and/or killing me if I ever turned evil. Stupid thing gave me 3rd degree frost burn, that was fun. A train full of people are still alive though, so I consider it a success."_

Oliver did not consider that a success, not even close.

The place that was supposed to be _helping_ Barry had weapons made in order to kill him?

And then one of them was stolen?

Did these people have the worst security in the world, or _what?_

He was tempted to call and ask the kid if he was alright on the phone, but considered that it might be a bit odd given the fact that, although they were becoming close friends as time went on, they'd really only met each other two or three times before.

 _"You alright?"_

That would have to do.

 _"I'm fine, no worries. Snart ended up taking hostages in order to distract me, but they're okay. Actually, my friend saved me from getting turned into a human icicle, he tricked the guy with a fancy vacuum, it was kind of awesome. We'll get him next time!"_

He couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm, evident even though a text message.

If there was anything to admire about Barry (aside from his intellect, of course) it had to be his good heart. He was so full of hope and joy, there was something to the boy that just managed to light up a room.

The world needed more people like him.

* * *

Barry couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he'd had with Felicity, on the train.

They were completely perfect for each other, and Felicity was smart and beautiful, but that kiss...

He'd felt _nothing_ , and it upset him more than he felt it should.

But even before that, when she'd asked him about his sympathy over unrequited love, he'd initially been panicked. Of course she would remember that, despite it having happened nearly ten months ago. Her memory must have been almost as good as his, possibly more so.

And then, when she'd mentioned Iris, he felt such a flood of relief...

Because if he had the Felicity Smoak of all people fooled, then that meant nobody knew his secret.

Except for _maybe_ his brother.

He did love Iris, of course, but not in the way he had thought he did when he was a child. She was his best friend in the world, without a doubt, and yet... he just wasn't _in love_ with her.

When he saw her and Eddie together, it did fill him with feelings of anger, and even jealousy, but not for the reasons someone might have suspected. The envy he felt, instead, was because of how easy being in a relationship had come to them.

Neither of them needed to hide how they felt from the world.

Barry had been wishing Iris was his girlfriend since middle school, when he started having strange feelings for actors on TV or boys in school, and models in magazines. All he knew was that he didn't feel the same way as other guys his age, and it had scared him senseless.

He wasn't gay, he told himself that constantly until he was convinced he had to be bisexual, because he had had feelings for Iris at one point in his childhood.

 _...Right?_

Sebastian was the one who was gay, and he was proud of his brother. He didn't try to hide who he was as a teenager, and still didn't. He never cared about the looks he might have gotten or about the hushed comments, he was out and unashamed of who he was.

He was happy for him, and he had no problem with people of different sexual orientations or identities.

But that didn't mean Barry wanted to be like them.

Trying so hard to be in a successful relationship had exhausted him back then. Becky had been a disaster, and when he and Iris got older he began hoping that maybe if she could find it in her to love him, he could bring back those feelings he had thought he had.

It was difficult not to think of Oliver, his longest lasting crush by far. Even before they'd known each other he'd been slightly infatuated, and that only multiplied due to the admiration he felt among seeing the man in person.

He was tall, smolderingly good-looking, intelligent, and brave almost to a fault. There was something fiercely attractive about a man who was loyal to his cause, to his family and friends, but even before he knew him as the Arrow, there had also been this dark charm to him, hidden depths that he had wanted to know more about.

Oliver was his friend, though, and he had tried not to think of him as anything but that. For one, he was totally straight, if the scandals from his past were anything to go by, and he didn't see Barry that way, hell, up until a while ago he hadn't even really liked him.

Granted, that was mostly his fault for lying, but still...

Pining after something so completely hopeless was pathetic and futile, and it only hurt him more the longer it persisted, so he kept trying, trying to find that connection to Iris that he had when he was little, to any girl, because he knew that sooner or later he had to meet the right one.

 _He had to._

Despite his determination to ignore any and all romantic attachment he had towards Oliver Queen, whenever Barry managed to finally fall asleep at night, it was still his piercing eyes and brilliant, guarded smile that haunted the young speedster's dreams.

God, he was falling _hard_ , wasn't he?

* * *

 **This is a slightly shorter chapter, given that I only wrote it in one day, but I plan for the next one to be longer, and as you can see the real romance is slowly starting to fall into place, which will be fun! If things seem a bit OOC for a while, it's only because I'm still learning their characters and all, but I hope I'm improving the more of Arrow I get through.**


	7. Shockwaves

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

It just wasn't a typical week for Oliver and his friends if _someone_ didn't come back from the dead.

While he probably shouldn't have been surprised that Felicity went through a phase of "hacktivism' in college as a way of rebelling, it did. Everyone had skeletons in their closet, but he never expected that hers would be the creation of a supervirus that her not-dead ex-boyfriend would try to use in order to shut down Starling.

Thankfully both she and her mother were safe, and apparently getting along better than they had when she'd first arrived.

He'd just arrived back at the Foundry from his movie night of sorts with Thea.

Felicity was there, watching something on her computer, "Hey," she smiled when she saw him walk in, "No worries about my mother showing up unannounced again, I think being held hostage together by my psycho ex was all the bonding we needed for awhile, she's on her flight back home."

"Oh? Good to hear it..."

With a frown, she swivled around in her chair to look at him, "Is anything wrong?"

Oliver shook his head, "No, nothing. I was just wondering - how are things between you and Barry?"

The expression she wore on her face froze, "Fine, things are fine, great! Why do you ask?"

"I got a text from him the other night, it seemed like there was something he wasn't telling me, did anything happen while you were over in Central City?"

The blonde fidgeted slightly, "Nothing particularly noteworthy..." she said, her voice was quiet, and distinctly uncomfortable.

She decided not to mention the conversation she and Barry ended up having on the train, or the kiss.

The vigilante was about to speak again when he noticed something on the tech's computer screen, "Felicity, turn the volume up."

Turning back to her station, she did so, paying attention to the news report.

 _"I'm Linda Park with KSFZ Channel 8, and we are live on the edge of the Central City waterfront, the scene of which a massive explosion took place just hours ago. General Wade Eiling with the United States Military claims to have been doing underwater weapons testing, but it may actually be connected to the recent bombing attacks throughout the city. Although their were no casualties, sources tell us-"_

Felicity turned to look at her friend, her face was pale, "What do you want to bet that's not the real story?"

He honestly hoped it was.

* * *

Barry groaned in annoyance as he rolled over in bed, nearly falling out in the process, and blindly reached for his cell phone on his side table.

Who the hell was calling him at... _quarter to two in the freaking morning?!_

"Hello?"

 _"Barry? Are you alright?"_

The young speedster's eyes flew wide open and he sat up instantly, "Oliver?" he asked, perplexed, "What's going on?"

Why was he calling him at this ungodly hour?

 _"Just answer the question!"_

A bit stunned by the snappy edge of the older man's tone, he nodded incredulously, even though he knew Oliver couldn't see it, "I'm fine, tired though," he frowned at the soft sigh he heard in response, "Why are you calling? Did something happen?"

 _"Felicity and I just saw the news. There was an explosion?"_

Oh!

So... Oliver was _concerned_ about him?

The thought sent an unwanted flutter through his chest, and he laid back down, thinking of all that happened in the past couple of days, "Y-Yeah, there was, but I'm okay. We all are, just..." he bit his lip, remembering the look on Bette's face as she was shot.

 _"Just what?"_

Sighing, the young man ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, "The recent bombings? Yeah, _not_ bombings."

 _"Another 'Metahuman', I'm guessing?"_

"You'd be correct in that speculation," He mumbled in reply.

 _"So, what happened, then?"_

Getting the feeling that this would be a lengthy conversation, Barry got up and headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water, rubbing the sleeps out of his eyes as he went, "This Seargeant in the military, Bette Sans Souci, she was turned into a living bomb-maker when the Particle Accelerator fused the shrapnel stuck inside of her body into her cells. We found out that they performed experiments on her, she wanted revenge because she thought they had made her what she was."

 _"She caused the explosion at the waterfront?"_

"Sort of..." Barry winced slightly, pulling the phone away from his ear, taking a long drink of the cold water, and making a face at the bland taste, "It's a long story. Basically, S.T.A.R. Labs couldn't figure out how to unsplice her DNA, she was miserable that everything she touched would blow up unless she consciously suppressed her powers, not to mention afraid of it, and I think that she thought going on a suicide mission to take down the corrupt General was a good idea. I arrived in time to stop her from killing them, but..." he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Oliver apparently realized that this was getting difficult for him to talk about, and prompted, _"But, something happened after that, didn't it?"_

"He _shot_ her anyways, even though I could have convinced her. He was safe and he did it anyways!" The young man sat down at his kitchen table, "He murdered her in cold blood, because he knew he couldn't control her. She died in my arms, and...and _after_ , her whole body just started _glowing_ , she was going to detonate, a nuclear explosion that size would have destroyed Central City, so I... I ran across the water with Bette, and I...I dumped her body far enough away so no one would get hurt."

Barry's hands were starting to shake, and he needed to focus hard to stop himself from vibrating, talking about this was upsetting, especially since there was no justice for Bette. She didn't even get to have a proper burial because her body was _gone_.

The man was silent on the other side of the phone for awhile, _"...You ran across the water?"_ he asked Barry, slowly.

"Oliver!" He nearly cried out, "That's so _not_ the point. I watched her _die_ , I couldn't protect her when she was standing right in front of me! None of us could help her. She was nice, and she didn't want to hurt anyone like the others, she didn't deserve it!"

He heard the former CEO exhale, _"Kid, you should know by now that there's casualties on both sides when it comes to war..."_

"This _wasn't_ a war though. Oliver, this was a woman who dedicated her life trying to protect her country from the enemy, and then had the people who were _supposed_ to have her back turn on her, they experimented on her! Instead of trying to help they turned her into some sort of human weapon!" Barry hadn't even noticed that he was starting to cry until his friend was attempting to calm him down.

 _"Kid? Hey, Barry! You're hyperventiliating, and if you keep it up you're gonna pass out. I need you to take a deep breath, okay? Can you do that for me?"_

"...O-Okay," Barry blinked away his tears, and struggled to relax, inhaling deeply, before letting the air out, trying to slow his racing heart to a normal speed. Well, normal for him anyways. After a few seconds had passed, he managed to tell Oliver what he had been dying to share ever since he'd met 'Plastique'...

"It could have been me." he said softly.

 _"What?"_

Swallowing hard, the forensics scientist rose his voice slightly, "Bette, I... I could have been just like her. Captured, experimented on, treated like...a possession, instead of a person, if the government had found me before S.T.A.R. Labs did." He wiped his eyes, a shudder ran through his body at the thought. "Or worse... What if I had woken up completely alone, terrified of what was happening to me, with no explanation, no reason? The others... it happened to them. Danton, Kyle, Clyde... They might not have been _good_ people, but they still didn't deserve to go through all that by themselves. I could have ended up like them."

 _"You're not them, Barry,"_ Oliver insisted, his voice was gentle but still firm, _"You're better."_

"Only because I got lucky-"

He interrupted his sentence, _"You're not lucky, Kid. You're brave and good. Do you know how many people would have just used your ability for selfish reasons? Instead, you're out there helping and saving them instead, facing what you do takes courage. Luck didn't make you decide to become a hero, your heart did."_

Barry was at a loss for words, both at the way Oliver talked about him, and at the respect he heard in his tone, "Oliver, I... thank you."

There was a smile in his voice when the other man spoke again, _"Anytime. Now, get some sleep, Barry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I-we were worried about you, that's all."_

His slip up didn't go unnoticed by the young prodigy.

"Okay," Barry whispered, fighting back his own smile at the flood of warmth he felt, "Goodnight, Oliver."

 _"Night."_

When the speedster headed back to his room afterwards, curling up on his bed, and he fell asleep almost instantly, and this time his dreams weren't filled with explosions and grisly deaths, but once more consumed by thoughts of the Arrow.

* * *

 _"-I don't know where you came from. I don't even know your name. But I have seen you do the impossible to protect the city I love. So for those of us who believe in you, and what you're doing, I just want to say... thank you."_

Cisco frowned slightly as he slowly turned away from his computer screen to look at his friend, "No offense, but you're sister is a _terrible_ blogger. These pictures floating around on the screen, not to mention the use of italics _and_ quotations in the title is redundant, also - the color scheme kinda looks like a rainbow puked on a grey canvas..."

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Caitlin gave him a look of disbelief, "Really? _That's_ what you took from this, Cisco? Unbelievable." She looked at Barry, "You see why this is a problem, don't you? I thought you were going to convince Iris to stop writing about you?"

"I _tried_ ," Barry said defensively, sitting up on the hospital cot with a slight wince. His ribs had healed from the night before, but there was still some residual soreness.

Right now, it was his shoulder that was killing him, since anesthetics just burned through his system without doing anything he was going to have to suffer through it with a brave face.

"Evidently she didn't listen, io either of us. In fact, my visit to her just seemed to make her _more_ interested, not less. Also, she's not my sister, I mean... not technically." It felt weird hearing her be referred to as that, especially given their little friendship hiatus due to disagreeing so much lately. "Also, I kind of had to cut things short after Tin Man showed up."

Shaking his head, Cisco tsked at him with a vaguely disappointed expression, "Dude, that is a _terrible_ nickname. Almost as bad as The Streak. You need to come up with something better."

The speedster rolled his eyes, "I'll do my best."

He resisted the urge to tell him that _Girder_ was not all that great either, but decided that would just hurt his feelings, plus Caitlin had already said as much anyways.

But at the moment, thinking of a cool supervillain nickname for Tony Woodward, aka the Metahuman that made his life hell through middle school and junior high, wasn't really on his list of priorities at the moment. Right now, they were trying to figure out a way to beat him.

* * *

Oliver was really starting to worry about Barry.

Yes, he'd been thinking about him more lately than he probably should have been, but this time he had a legitimate reason. According to Felicity (and apparently her friend Dr. Snow with whom she'd kept in touch), he had foolishly gone after a superpowered criminal without telling them, _twice_ , and nearly gotten himself killed in the process.

What had she told him?

Thirteen fractures in his right hand, a mild concussion, six broken ribs, a bruised spleen, a dislocated shoulder, and breaking his hand _again_ , and that was just this _week_.

He was too reckless, running into danger without any preparation, it made the vigilante wish they weren't both so busy, otherwise he would have volunteered to help train Barry how to hold his own better in a battle, just like he had with Roy. Unfortunately, it seemed like this was personal for the kid, what with the enemy being a former rival from his childhood.

Sure, in the end he'd caught his guy, but if he kept rushing headlong into situations with no plan, his luck would run out eventually and he could end up with an injury that would take more than a few hours to heal.

At least he now had a decent nickname (the Flash), courtesy of his...something. Sister? Friend? _Girlfriend?_

Whatever, it didn't matter.

Making the decision to talk with him about it the next time he was in Central City, Oliver tried to focus back on the current task at hand - like who this murderous stalker of his was, and how to stop her before she killed anyone else in his name, or rather, his alter ego's name, with heart-tipped arrows no less.

Honestly, he was beginning to think he should start his own fanclub.

* * *

Barry was in shock.

He couldn't believe it... how was it _possible_ that he'd lost his speed?

The first reaction that he'd had was confusion, and then after that... panic. He couldn't go back to the way things had been before, now that he knew the things he did. He couldn't let other Metahumans go around destroying things and killing people when he knew the police couldn't stop them.

His mother's killer was still out there, and without his power he would never prove his father's innocence.

Was he just supposed to forget everything that had happened in the past few weeks?

It didn't feel like that was a possibility, so he was hoping, praying, that Dr. Wells and Cisco and Caitlin could find a way to reverse whatever that man had done to drain him of his abilities.

Because without the Flash, who would keep the city safe?

Looking out his apartment window, a feeling of anxiousness and sheer dread washed over him, who would protect all of the people down there, if not for him? Central City didn't have anyone else, and the thought of that havoc that could be unleashed if Tony or The Mist ever got out was terrifying.

How could he possibly stop them if he was just a normal guy again?

* * *

Farooq Gibran.

That was the name Cisco had discovered while searching for the identity of the electricity thief, the one who was currently inside of S.T.A.R. Labs, with no power and no way to escape.

And they were completely defenseless.

Joe and Iris were both being held hostage at CCPD; he didn't even know if they were alive or dead at this point, but he was trying his hardest not to think about it. First, he had to focus on getting him and the others out of their current predicament.

He couldn't be in two places at once even with his speed, without it, how was he supposed to help anyone?

Dr. Wells as of yet untested theory was the only thing they had to go on, and to be completely truthful, Barry was _terrified_.

What if it didn't work? This lunatic could very well kill both him and his friends, and what was going on at the precinct while he was _trapped?_

 _I wish Oliver was here_ , Barry thought to himself, trying to keep his composure. He needed... no, _they_ needed a plan.

That was when he remembered Bette, and not just her, but the other Metahumans; Clyde, Kyle, Danton, even Tony. How afraid all of them must have been, how alone, and he recalled his conversation with the older vigilante not long ago.

Maybe he hadn't been able to help any of them, but what if he could help Farooq?

He had to at least try, if anything he deserved the offer.

Wells had said that he was a murderer, but Barry couldn't shake the thought that he could have been just like them too, had his circumstances been different, had he not had such a strong support system when he woke up from the coma.

No matter what they said, his decision was made, he had to let the guy know that he wasn't _alone_.

At least, that he didn't have to be.

* * *

The moment Barry came into view, Farooq appeared ready to attack him.

"Hey! Whoa!" The young man held his hands up in the air, the universal sign for 'surrendering', as he eyed the blue and white sparks coming off of Farooq's hands, "Whoa, easy... I-I'm not going to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me."

It wasn't said in the form of a boast, just matter-of-fact, like he knew for certain, which, well it was true, he couldn't hurt him, but the electricity vampire couldn't know that his powers were gone, could he?

"Where is Harrison Wells?"

"Look," Barry slowly took a step forward "I know what happened to you. T-The night of the Accelerator explosion, it changed you, right? It changed me too."

Farooq watched him closely, before he lowered his own hands, the electricity fading from his fingertips. "Yeah... You were the one in the red suit," he said, quietly. "I fed from you."

Behind the wall he was using to hide, Cisco cringed, because there was no universe in which that _didn't_ sound weird.

"I have to keep feeding," The Metahuman made a move towards Barry, and he quickly scrambled back, pretty sure that if the guy tried to siphon from him again, he wouldn't survive it without his powers. "Hey, hey, alright. I know this has to be terrifying, that's why I want to help you." It did stop him, though, "Okay?"

The man's expression was haunted, "The night of the explosion, when the light hit me... it stopped my heart. Jake and Daria-"

"They were your friends?"

He nodded,"I woke up and they were beside me, _dead_. T-They tried to give me CPR, they were touching me and..." his voice broke, guilt and raw pain flashing across his face. "I _eletrocuted_ them."

Barry shook his head, "This is _not_ your fault."

"I know," Farooq's eyes went cold, and he looked down at his hands, which were now sparking once more, "...Wells did this to me."

No, he had to get through to him. He had to make him see that no one was to blame here, it was all just a horrible and tragic accident that led to many people getting hurt and killed.

"Look, Farooq," The younger man began, his voice becoming desperate, he could see the anger within the Metahuman rising again, "You need to _listen_ to me-"

He didn't.

One flick of his wrist sent Barry flying into the next room, hot electric energy coursing through his veins, just like when his powers had been drained.

He stayed conscious this time, and it hurt like hell.

Caitlin knelt by his side to check on him while Cisco quickly shut the door.

"Not sure how long that will hold."

Dr. Wells rolled over to where they were, "Done being noble, Mr. Allen?" he questioned, his voice unusually curt. When Barry merely looked up at him, he moved on, "Caitlin, get him to the treadmill, Cisco - bring the generator online. Make sure Barry gets the charge."

The mechanical engineer's expression became stricken, " _What?_ You're not coming with me? I am not leaving you!"

Harrison looked him in the eye, "Listen to me, of everything I've done in my life, of everything I have invented, my most important creation is _The Flash_." His tone left no room for arguments, "Barry Allen _must_ have a future. Now go. _Go!_ "

Uncertainty leaving his face, Cisco quickly took off.

* * *

Tony's last words were still ringing in his ears.

 _Run._

He wanted to, he really did, he just _couldn't_.

The fact that Wells had used him as a distraction, despite his criminal history, infuriated the young man. Were human lives really so meaningless to him that he would sacrifice anyone just to buy a few measely seconds? No one deserved to be used and thrown away like that.

But he needed to be focused on restoring his speed _right now_ , and wipe out all other thoughts.

If only he knew what to do.

Cisco seemed convinced that it was all in his head, that...embarrassment had caused him to lose his powers?

Whatever, he didn't have time to consider just how little sense that made.

Farooq had completely drained the power from the vans, they had no way of escaping and if they didn't figure out a way to stop him right then and there, then they were all as good as dead.

The drainer sent a bolt of electricity towards him, but Barry managed to leap out of the vehicle before it hit.

His friends were by his side, trying to make sure he wasn't hurt, and the man was fast approaching them, Caitlin was gripping his arm, nearly shaking in fear, "Oh my God, no. No, _please!_ "

" _Hey!_ "

Farooq turned around to see Dr. Wells, several feet away, "You're here for me."

The intruder smiled without warmth, "Finally, you show your face."

"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed."

His hands sparked at that, "Neither were my friends!"

"I know," Wells told him, his voice was quiet, placating, but that just seemed to anger the other even more, "I hurt a lot of people that night."

"People?!" He shouted furiously, "You don't even know their _NAMES!_ "

"Jake Davenport, Daria Kim," Farooq blanched, "Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Shawna Baez, Bea Da Costa, Hartley Rathaway, Bette Sans Souci, Connor Hawke," Wells looked over at them, "Ronnie Raymond..."

Caitlin looked away.

"I know the names of every single person who died that night, and everyone who was injured because of me. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with _every day_ , but these people?" He nodded towards the trio on the floor, "These people have done nothing wrong, they wanted to help you. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live."

Barry was shocked, and even Farooq seemed momentarily at a loss for words.

"You died that night too," he finally whispered, electricity crackling powerfully from his hands, before blasting Wells right out of his wheelchair.

 _"NO!"_

"You just didn't know it until today."

Caitlin squeezed her eyes shut, and even Cisco was fighting back tears at this point.

That was when he felt it.

A surge of power, of _energy_ , charging first through his limbs, and then flowing through the rest of his body, his senses seemed to go into overdrive, awakening the dormant power inside of him, making everything seem sharper and so much clearer...

Time slowed down around him.

His speed was back.

Barry shot forward and grabbed Wells, placing him safely with the others in a matter of milliseconds, before Farooq could even comprehend what had happened.

He wasn't going to let _anyone_ hurt his friends.

* * *

When Oliver first heard the news from Felicity, his reaction was not what he would have expected.

A terror he had felt only when his closest friends and his family were in danger slammed into him.

According to the blonde, there had not only been a hostage situation at the Central City Police Department, but the perpetrator had been that clock-obssessed maniac, William Tockman, there had been casualties.

Then, he found out the reason why Barry hadn't been there to stop it.

He'd lost his powers.

Fucking _unbelievable_.

Apparently some electrokinetic Metahuman had shocked and drained him of his speed, but it was only temporary (he'd needed a "jumpstart" of some sort), one of their prisoners at S.T.A.R. Labs had been killed in the fight, and they had very nearly joined him.

What really made his blood boil though was the knowledge that Barry had _willingly_ thrown himself between his friends and this...this _energy vampire_ , allowing himself to get electrocuted. It was insanity, he could have ended up dead, and by the way Felicity had described it to him - he hadn't had a plan when he did it, he just happened to get lucky that the bastard overloaded on his powers or whatever.

The kid was so unprepared, so reckless, that he was eventually going to run out of his "luck" one day and end up in a shallow grave.

It was a sickening thought, but he knew it was still true.

When Felicity had suggested investigating the boomerang-related death by tracking its materials in Central City, he hadn't even hesitated.

A serious conversation between the Arrow and the Flash was _long_ overdue.

He had to show Barry how dangerous and stupid his actions were.

Before it was too late.

* * *

 **Well, it's five o'clock in the morning and I just finished this chapter, I seem to have a very specific time schedule, don't I? Oh well. Anyone else getting super excited? Next chapter will start the events of "Flash v. Arrow", then some fun non-canon stuff, before launching into "The Brave And The Bold", which means the romance is about to finally get really started.**

 **Until next time!**


	8. The Red-Eyed Monster

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Barry Allen was in love.

The realization hadn't been a sudden, hit-you-with-the-force-of-a-truck type of moment like you would see in the movies, but rather he could remember his feelings gradually getting stronger as each day passed, until there was really no point in denying it anymore. He was completely, head-over-heels, cheesy movie cliché in love... with Oliver Queen.

Yes, _him_.

Possibly the single most well known, _straightest_ , playboy in all of the Midwestern United States and, according to Felicity, the moodiest as well. Apparently, he'd doomed himself to basically being alone and miserable for the rest of his life, if his incident with a stalker copycat killer had been any sort of indication. She'd overheard talk about how he couldn't be with anyone, ever.

While sad, considering it was _Oliver_ , it wasn't all that surprising.

The guy just loved punishing himself for things out of his control.

Still, the speedster had to admit that even though he'd been slowly coming to terms with all of it, it wasn't getting any easier. Hiding it was the simple part, but living with it was more difficult. Everytime Oliver would text or call him he would feel almost giddy, and elevated levels of dopamine were making it hard to focus on anyone but the vigilante.

It had started out as mild attraction to a well known, very attractive face, and his respect for the businessman only tripled when he learned of his secret identity as the hero of Starling City. It amazed him, and he'd definiely looked up to the Arrow, for sometime before he was even known by that name,

At this point he'd given up on trying to force himself to love Iris as anything more than a sister, doing so up until this point had only strained their relationship, and she was happy with Eddie...

So he'd thought.

When he'd noticed their fighting, he'd initially felt a bit happy, as twisted as that was, he'd been jealous of their relationship for so long, until he found out the reason why they were fighting - the Flash.

Iris was furious about Eddie trying to arrange a task force to have him captured, and the guilt had flooded him instantly as he berated himself for all of those visits paid to her, if he had just stayed away, maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to defend him, or prove his existence.

That was when he promised himself not to interfere with the two of them again, it wasn't fair and he had been selfish in doing so in the first place.

Hopefully it wasn't too late for at least _them_ to be happy.

* * *

Oliver had showed up right on time.

When he arrived at the address that had come in over the police radio, he had gone off instantly, despite Felicity's assurance that the hero of Central City was more than capable of protecting himself. From what he'd heard of the blonde's updates and read in Iris West's blog posts, it seemed like the kid was throwing him into danger now more than ever.

In the last couple of months the young hero had been shot at, electrocuted, nearly stabbed, poisoned, beaten, and shot at _again_ (though that time with some sort of Flash-specific ice ray of doom or whatever), and that was only the shit he had heard about. The boy had nearly been killed half a dozen times by now.

And it pissed him off to no end.

Upon making his entrance, he had been completely unsurprised (though irrationally infuriated) to find a man dressed in full riot gear, pointing a rifle at Barry and his foster father, the detective. He hadn't even taken a moment to think about why the guy was turning on his own side before he took him down, with two arrows instead of one.

Just because he _felt_ like it.

The police had turned to face him with complete shock.

Barry, on the other hand, was beaming at him and had an expression of awe, considering it had been the first time he had really seen the Arrow in battle mode, if you didn't count his showing off with the grappling hook after their little roof top chat, but along with the amazement was something else, something that he just couldn't quite place.

He figured he would be seeing more of the Flash later, after Barry handled the crime scene in his civilian attire, so he gave the fellow vigilante a grin before making his exit.

"Nice mask."

* * *

When Oliver parked his motorcycle and hopped off, he found Barry already there on the front porch, talking with Felicity and Diggle.

"Hey!" The younger man greeted cheerfully as he made his way over, "Thanks for showing up back there, but I had that."

His words and tone were friendly enough, but the archer could see a tinge of defensiveness in his eyes. Hurt pride, perhaps, he was young and excited to play hero, as Oliver had been from time to time in the beginning, and was a little annoyed that someone else had swooped in and stolen his glory.

Oliver still chose to spare his feelings. He didn't laugh; loudly, and he didn't list all the ways that Barry absolutely did _not_ have that, settling for a slightly skeptical, "Uh-huh." instead.

Something akin to a pout appeared on the kid's face, and he had to supress a smile, because it was kind of cute. "What? I was getting ready to make my move!"

"What move?" He scoffed, still torn between snickering and openly berating the kid for his recklessness. "The one to the morgue?"

He regretted the words instantly after they passed his lips, because he knew Barry had already faced death and survived it, when the lightning struck him, but even so... the image of the energetic speedster laying lifeless on an autopsy table, green eyes open wide and unseeing, would haunt him the next time he went to sleep, he just knew it.

Oliver had been thinking far too much about Barry lately. How he was doing, whether or not he was safe, if he was seeing anyone...

That was the moment it hit him.

 _Oh, fucking hell._

How could he not have seen it sooner? _That_ was why he couldn't seem to get the young boy off of his mind, why even while fighting to protect his own city from drug pushers and gangsters and rapists and whatnot, he still couldn't help but be concerned for his safety.

The man known as the Arrow didn't let the shock he was feeling show, his face remained a perfect mask of calm indifference, but inside, his mind was reeling, trying to piece together and remember the exact day when he had begun to feel something other than friendship towards Barry.

Just _when_ had he gone from being the annoyingly observant forensics investigator who Felicity was crushing on (and had also saved his life), to the radiant young prodigy with super speed who had slowly been breaking down his walls over the course of _months_ , without him even realizing it?

He honestly didn't know.

Oliver managed to snap out of it, just in time to hear Felicity explain their latest case to Barry.

"-the murder weapon is a boomerang."

Barry's mouth dropped open slightly and he eagerly reached forward to grab the device from the evidence bag, his expression one of excitement, " _Cool!_ "

He shot the younger male a darkish glare for not taking it seriously, and he immediately backtracked, "I mean, _awful_."

"I found traces of iron oxcide on it," the blonde told him, "I know it's a long shot, but Central City has the highest concentration of iron oxcide in the country, so..." she shrugged, and went to take the boomerang back from him.

Light sparked behind Barry's eyes, a smile on his lips, "Did you know Australian Aboriginals use boomerangs to hunt? Mainly on kangaroo, which is a surprisingly low-fat source of-"

" _Ahem_ ," Oliver cut him off mid-rant, ignoring the way the boy's face falling sent a pang through his chest, "We were following up on a lead when we heard the S.W.A.T. raid over the radio, and I thought I would come by, and, you know, watch you make your move." He smirked slightly.

Diggle was still staring at Barry, as though he were an alien, "I had a cousin who got struck by lightning once - he just developed a stutter."

Their blonde IT girl patted his arm sympathetically, unsure how to really reply to that.

"Huh. Well, my team and I are after a nasty Metahuman who makes people angry via empathic manipulation."

Felicity blinked, "Cool."

Another look from her team leader, prompted her to repeat Barry's earlier correction, "I mean awful." She raised her hands defensively.

"Ah, well..." The younger prodigy said awkwardly, before suggesting with a grin, "Since you guys are here, why don't we team up? I'll help you find your boomerang man, you can help me find my super rage-a-holic?"

"We'd love to!" She said instantly, while John nodded slightly and a feeling of dread washed over him, because they _all_ seemed excited by the prospect, but it was a bad idea. Oliver couldn't be spending time getting messed up with Central City's superpowered criminals, he had Starling to focus on, and the quicker he got away from Barry, the easier it would be to clear his head and better process what he'd just found out about himself.

"No, we'll handle our business and head home." He stated simply.

Felicity was visibly disappointed.

Oliver expected to see the same expression on Barry's when he glanced at him, but nearly did a double take at what he did see.

Hurt. Sadness. Confusion.

Maybe a touch of anger.

Well, the kid certainly wasn't going to make this easy for him. He already knew what he had to do - he couldn't let himself get any closer or more attached to Barry than he already was. Everyone he grew to care about with the exception of a few individuals ended up either dead or hating him, and even Diggle, Felicity and Roy had been put in danger numerous times by his involvement in their lives.

This... _whatever_ he was feeling for the younger man, it would go away on it's on, with some distance and time.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

Barry was furious!

How _dare_ Joe and Dr. Wells try to dictate who he can and can't be friends with?

The Arrow was one of the good guys!

Sure, maybe he had a darker side to him, but didn't they all? The speedster was not willing to cut off contact with Oliver just because the two of them thought he was dangerous, it was unfair. Since when had Joe even cared about the criminals getting hurt as long as it meant the innocent were safer?

They'd never had a problem with Barry fighting the police's battles, or holding Metahumans prisoner in illegal underground jails, but suddenly the _Arrow_ was a terrorist?

Hypocrisy at its finest.

That was another thing all together - trying to pin everything bad that had happened in Starling on him. Malcolm Merlyn had been the one to cause the earthquake, and Slade Wilson had been the cause of the violent assault more recently, with Mirakuru-enhanced soldiers.

Granted, they were only their because Deathstroke had it out for Oliver, but that wasn't even the point!

The Arrow was probably the only person in the world right now who could understand what the Flash was going through, what decisions he struggled with and thoughts he had, and he was just supposed to, what, tell him to leave? If Joe thought that was going to happen then he was out of his mind!

Barry didn't think he could do that, even if he did agree with his foster father. Not now that he'd realized why he'd been so inexplicably drawn to the older male ever since the first time they'd met, and why he was always the first person he texted before he went to bed, and who he talked to whenever he had something on his mind.

If he hadn't known before, he certainly did now.

Joe, Wells, the others... they could never know about his feelings.

They would never approve, and if it was confirmed, Barry didn't think he could put his trust in people who didn't accept him for who he was.

(He denied the thought that he was just making excuses not to be honest with them, because he was afraid.)

* * *

Despite what Oliver had earlier said, in the end he got the name for Barry.

He told the others, even himself, that it was just a name, that it wasn't helping, not _really_ , and that he was just doing it to be a good friend, really, one little favor meant nothing.

But he knew it was a lie.

Meeting up with Barry at CC Jitters was an... interesting experience.

Not only did it give him the opportunity to meet the younger man's "sort-of-but-not-really" sister, but he also got to see the face behind the blog posts. Admittedly, she was attractive, and seemed nice and intelligent, but despite the obvious reasons as to why Barry would fall for someone like her, he couldn't help but be annoyed by her presence.

It was not a good thing.

Jealousy and he never got along well, and he didn't even have a reason to feel threatened by Iris, none at all. He and Barry weren't together, they would never be together, any feelings close to romantic that he may have held for the Metahuman were not ones that he planned to persue, now or ever.

He knew that.

So why did the way he would smile at her, and the way she pulled him away so they could talk, leave a bitter taste in his mouth?

The coffee wasn't to blame.

"Someone's crushing big time." Felicity said with a grin as Oliver rejoined her at the table, and he'd been so focused on the way Barry's mood suddenly seemed to improve like magic after they'd agreed to team up that he almost hadn't heard her.

When he did, he stiffened almost imperceptibly, "What are you talking about?" His tone is colder than he intended.

Blinking at him, the blonde adjusted her glasses, "Iris, duh. She's _totally_ got the hots for you."

Oh.

The archer relaxed and managed to work a small smile onto his face, because he had noticed her flirting, despite it being so subtle he almost wasn't sure that she was even consciously aware of it, "She'll get over it." He said dismissively.

After all, she did have a boyfriend.

Not to mention Barry was already head over heels in love with her.

He heard the speedster laugh at something Iris said, and looked away from the two, his mood suddenly turning sour again as a result.

* * *

"You're late."

That's the first thing Oliver said to Barry when he suddenly appeared at his Central City hideout, because honestly, it was kind of unbelievable.

Turning to face him, he had to ask, "Barry, how can you have super speed and still not be on time?"

Barry's expression was slightly sheepish, "Uh, sorry. I guess the super tardiness kinda neutralizes it."

Really? _That_ was his theory?

Couldn't he just set his watch so he knew when he had to be somewhere?

Looking around, the younger man was obviously confused as to why they were there, considering Felicity had already set up her equipment at S.T.A.R. Labs. "So... how do we catch Bivolo here?"

Oliver almost doesn't go through with his plan to trick Barry, he knew it would upset him, hurt the faith the boy so obviously had in him, but maybe that was a good thing? Not only would it teach him to be more perceptive of his surroundings and learn some form of self-preservation instinct, but it would make distancing himself from him in the future easier.

He didn't want to start a fight, but it was the best way to keep the speedster from getting himself killed, one way or the other.

"What, like...in Rocky?"

Shaking his head slightly, he replied, "I read your friend Iris's blog posts on the Flash, and I visited all of the crime scenes you fought at."

Barry stared at him, incredulously, and with a hint of concern, "Did you sleep?"

No, he hadn't, because he hadn't been able to shut off his brain long enough to do so, but that was beside the point.

"Last month you took on a man named Leonard Snart."

The Metahuman grinned slightly, "We call him Captain Cold."

Oliver bit back a comment on how ridiculous that was, and instead told him, "We can talk about you giving your enemies silly code names later."

"You mean like over coffee with Deathstroke and The Huntress?"

Sassy little _shit_.

He just knew that Barry wasn't going to make this easy on him.

The longer their little lesson went on, the more annoyed he could tell the kid was getting, but it was for his own good.

Still, when it came time for his plan, he hesitated, but it was the image of Snart standing over his frozen body with a cold gun in hand, or something much worse, which promped him to continue. "You're going to run over there, you're going to come back at me, and you're going to get hit with an arrow."

Barry laughed at that, and the sound was nearly musical.

His expression tightened, and as predicted, the speedster caught the arrow mere inches before it could hit him, grinning triumphantly.

And then the two motion-sensored ones he'd set up earlier went off.

The cry of pain and surprise that Barry let out wasn't nearly as bad as the look of betrayal that flashed in his eyes.

 _It's for his own good_ , he kept telling himself.

* * *

When Oliver called Felicity early the next morning, he questioned her on the progress she and Cisco Ramon were making on the boomerang case, and she seemed pretty excited to be working at S.T.A.R. Labs, so he couldn't entirely regret agreeing to team up with them, even though he knew she would have stayed with or without his approval.

Then, he asked, "What about Roy Bivolo?"

Silence.

"Felicity?" He prompted, "Did you find out anything?"

"We, uh, found out his location." Her voice was hesitant.

He frowned, "Why didn't you call me then?"

"Barry said he could handle it solo."

The archer nearly groaned out loud upon hearing that. Of course, the young hero had completely missed the point he'd been trying to make earlier. It hadn't been about upsetting him or making him rescind the offer to work as partners, but that was probably why he did it, "And?"

A sigh could be heard on the other end, "We think he got whammied."

 _Whammied?_

"What do you mean?"

"Barry said Bivolo made eye contact with him in the struggle, everything went red, and when he snapped out of it the guy was gone. Caitlin and he didn't think he was affected, but then he started getting really... un-Barry-like."

 _Not good._

"Alright, tell him to meet me for another training session," Oliver suggested, mentally berating himself for handling things badly earlier. He should have made his point more clear, his intention wasn't to have Barry think that he needed to do things on his own, "I'll talk to him, see if anything seems off."

* * *

Barry arrived only a few minutes after he hung up with Felicity, 'Thinking of new ways to embarrass me?"

He turned to face him, and found the scientist standing there, staring at him coldly, and he knew the younnger male was still angry about yesterday. "I'm not trying to embarrass you, Barry, but you went after Bivolo last night - _alone_ \- and you lost him."

Scoffing and rolling his eyes, the speedster turned away from him, "And you've never had a misstep?" His arms curled around himself, clearly defensive.

" _Of course_ I've had missteps," Oliver moved towards him, sighing. "Barry, I have been living this life for almost _eight years_ , encountering things that you can't even fathom, and I am still alive. Not because super speed kept me out of the ground." He could tell by the look on the kid's face that he hadn't said the right thing, and quickly moved on. "It was because I realized that I needed to keep learning, keep training, keep getting smarter, and until you get that, despite your best intentions, you will do more harm than good."

The archer was desperately hoping that Barry could see what he was really trying to tell him.

He doesn't think Barry's doing a bad job, quite the opposite, in fact. The boy was extremely resilient to bounce back from everything he'd gone through with a cheery disposition in tact. He could see the light in his heart, the true desire to help people.

But he needed to learn to _adapt_.

"I finally see it," Barry spoke then, his tone was quiet, but there was something in his eyes that Oliver didn't like, something that just wasn't him. An angry fire burning behind the fractured calm. "You're a little bit jealous of me. Aren't you?"

How did he possibly draw that conclusion?

Okay, maybe at first he'd been a little bit resentful of the fact that Barry jumped into this new life so easily, but that wasn't why he was pushing him so hard.

 _It's because I want to keep you safe, Kid._

 _"_ A guy like you, who has everything." The speedster continued, "Fame, looks, money, you could probably have anyone you wanted. I'm sure jealousy is probably a new emotion for you, so you might be a little slow to process what you're feeling, _Ollie_." His tone was hard and icy, mocking. "Or maybe it's because I relate better to people than you do. That I don't try to push away everyone I get close to."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow at him, expression revealing nothing, "That's your theory?"

He could see the rage growing in him, a sickening red glow flared up in those bright green eyes, and he wanted to exstinguish it.

"Absolutely," Barry told him, something akin to a smirk on his lips. "Felicity told me all about your self-loathing martyr _bullshit_. You think it makes you dark and mysterious, don't you? I think it makes you an emotionally stunted child that grew up on the set of a soap opera, too afraid to let anyone else in. Why do you put up so many walls?" he asked, cynically, "Afraid to actually let yourself be happy for once?"

The vigilante's jaw tightened, trying to keep his cool, he replied, "I told Felicity you didn't want my help."

A grin appeared on the younger man's face, he could tell he hit a sore spot with Oliver.

He wasn't Barry, the quirky genius Oliver knew would _never_ act this way.

"Yeah? You're finally right about something," Barry sneered as he headed out, his back turned to Oliver, muttering before he took off that sounded suspiciously like something along the lines of, "...I don't know what I ever saw in you."

 _What?_

* * *

S.T.A.R. Labs knew his secret, that was _not_ something Oliver was particularly happy about, especially considering Harrison Wells had deduced it on his own without actually having to be told, that was four more who now knew, and the list was already way too long.

But he knew that if he wanted to get Barry to snap out of his rage fest, he would need their help.

He may have gone up against super soldiers on Mirakuru, but fighting these 'Metahumans' or whatever was not something he had experience with, he needed to be prepared.

When Oliver found out that he was attacking Iris's boyfriend downtown, he had Felicity text him the exact location.

This needed to stop, _now_.

* * *

As soon as Oliver caught sight of the man clad in red leather, he hopped off of his bike, approaching from the alley so Barry wouldn't see him right away.

He could hear them all yelling at each other.

Iris was distraught - nearly in tears - her face a mask of confusion and fear, "You are _not_ fine!"

"How would you know?!" The speedster shouted back, his eyes flaring even redder than before. Whatever mutation Barry had gotten from the lightning was causing Bivolo's influence to get stronger over time, not weaker, that was a really bad sign. "Because you write about me? You don't know me! You don't know who I am, _none_ of you do, you never did!"

Barry was shaking almost violently, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

His sister took a few steps closer to him, and he silently willed for her not to get in the way, or she would be hurt, and he knew the kid would never be able to live with himself if that happened. "I know that you have risked your life to help people, to save them! Someone who does that does not suddenly turn around and want to hurt people. _Please!_ "

For just a moment, it seemed like Barry was fighting off the effects, his expression was hurt, and his eyes briefly shifted back into their natural emerald green color, before the rage took over again.

That was when Oliver made _his_ move, and he was almost surprised by how easy it was to get Barry, the cord wrapped around him tightly, causing him to fall to the ground, and he told the other two to run before he approached the younger man.

Oliver pulled the cord, yanking Barry forward and onto his feet, "Kid, you need to _calm down_."

The boy sent him a hateful glare, "And you need to hold on!"

A simple flick of his wrist sent the vigilante flying across the street, and he probably would have suffered from severe road rash had his uniform-of-sorts not been built to withstand it.

He shot a trick arrow at him, and Barry predictably doged it, causing it to embed itself in the wall behind him.

"You missed," he smirked.

The Arrow shook his head, grimly, "No."

It exploded.

Barry was thrown to the ground by the blast, and when his fingers twitched but he didn't immediately get up, Oliver worried that he may not have been far enough away, that it might have actually hurt him, but then he started to move, and he took that chance to get behind him.

When he was on his feet again, the man in green quickly shot a sedative arrow, and it got him in the shoulder. Barry fell to one knee, groaning.

Maybe the smoke bomb _had_ effected him a little.

"2000 milligrams of horse tranquilizer should be hitting you anytime now." Oliver allowed himself to relax a little, it was over.

Now, they just had to get him back to S.T.A.R. Labs before he woke up and-

A growl-like sound ripped from Barry's throat, and he forced himself to stand up, reaching back and ripping the arrow out without so much as flinching, though he did give a small yelp of pain, then threw it to the ground. His fists clenched by his side, and he began to tremor.

Green gas rose from his skin, billowing out of his pores.

 _No fucking way._

He had _vibrated_ the drug out of his system!

Oliver had no idea he could even do that shit.

 _How in the hell..._

It looked like he was going to have to take the kid down physically then, stall him long enough for Detective West and Doctor Wells to arrive and do whatever plan they had come up with to fix him. But before he had a chance to do anything, Barry was running around him, so quickly he was a blur of yellow and red and electricity, creating a cyclone that surrounded him.

This was not good, Barry's rage was giving him increased adrenaline, which was making him stronger, and he wouldn't be able to take down the speedster this way.

Deciding to get out of there now and come up with a new plan, he attempted to escape using his grappling arrows, but evidently the Flash wanted to finish what they had started, because he proceeded to _run up the damn building_ and ripped it from the wall - he managed to launch another one just in time to not become a splatter on the pavement.

"Is that all you got?!" His friend taunted, eyes glowing brighter than ever, "Come on! Give it your best shot, _Arrow!_ "

He hoped like hell the others were on their way.

Barry launched himself at Oliver, and then they were fighting. He tried holding back a little at first - he didn't want to hurt the kid - but it was more than obvious that he didn't need to, because his speed more than made up for his lack of physical training, he was so fast that he was actually starting to wear him down, particularly with his rapid-fire fisticuff punches to his entire body.

He wasn't sure he could hold him off much longer, the younger boy was doging every move he made.

When Oliver was knocked down to the ground, out of desperation he fired off two of his automatic crossbows he'd set up before leaving the alley, and the other man caught them both.

"Fool me once."

Maybe he _was_ learning a bit.

It was a dirty trick, but he took that moment of distraction to throw a fletchette into his calf.

Barry's knee gave out and he was left stooped on the ground, pain written across his face, and while he managed to pull that out as well, he was visibly weakened by Oliver, seeming to have trouble remaining on both feet, but he clearly still wasn't himself.

"I still believe in you Barry," he told him softly, breathing heavily, just trying to get _through_ to him.

Barry snarled wordlessly, his eyes flickered a bright crimson, and he moved in for a Mach-level punch, but Oliver managed to catch it, _somehow_ , despite feeling the sheer power and force put behind it. Even the speedster seemed shocked by that move.

Quickly slamming his fist into Barry's shoulder, Oliver managed to turn him around, before locking his arms across the younger male's waist and neck, keeping his hands pinned to his sides, ignoring his angry struggling, _"LET ME GO OLIVER!"_

Just then the screech of S.T.A.R. Labs' van caught both of their attention, it made a rough turn and the side door flew open, revealing a huge machine inside covered in five LED lights, which then turned on as it whirred to life and began flashing a pattern of all different colors.

Oliver was nearly blinded by the rainbow, but he didn't loosen his grip - they had no idea whether or not this would actually work.

When the other man stopped fighting him, seemingly transfixed on the multicolored glow, only then did he let go.

As the lights shut off, Barry doubled over, clutching his head and moaning in pain.

"Barry?" he asked, cautiously optimistic. "You okay?"

"Oh." The speedster looked at him, and he felt a wave of relief at the sight of his normal eyes and his worn out expression, though he still donned a grimace of discomfort, "Ugh... This is going to be a special kind of hangover..."

He was _back_.

* * *

 **I had no idea this was going to be that long. I'll finish the "Arrow vs. Flash" episode with the beginning of the next chapter, and it'll include some out-of-canon fun that I promised last time, since I didn't realize how long this was getting until just now.**

 **Hope you're still enjoying! Is anyone else relieved that Oliver's starting to finally get a clue?**


	9. Zugzwang

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

They got Bivolo.

It had actually been pretty easy, what with all of them working together, to track down his location. They'd made sure to wear special contact lenses that Cisco had whipped up in order to avoid being "whammied" by his pathokinesis again, which was a good thing too, because it seemed like without his powers the guy didn't actually stand a chance.

After imprisoning the Metahuman up in the Pipeline, they began to head back.

Oliver paused, however, when he noticed the woman - Dr. Snow - lingering by the far right wall, looking at something.

Curiously, he headed in her direction, glancing over her shoulder.

There was a large plaque on the wall that he hadn't seen earlier, engraved with at least a couple dozen names, most of which he didn't recognize, but a few he did. They were the names of the people who had been killed or "changed" from the Particle Accelerator explosion.

Bette Sans Souci, Clyde Mardon, Mark Mardon, Danton Black, Kyle Nimbus, and even Roy G. Bivolo, the one they had just locked up...

"It was Barry's idea, he felt that even the ones who did bad things after the accident deserved to be remembered, even the Metas. We're the only ones who will ever known what really happened to them..." Caitlin told him softly without turning around, her fingers reached up and traced under one name in particular.

 _Ronnie Raymond_

"Did you know him?" The vigilante questioned, and her shoulders tensed briefly.

Oliver took that as a yes.

"He is... _was_ my fiancé." Caitlin slowly looked at the man known as the Arrow, "The night it happened, he sacrificed himself trying to shut down the Accelerator from inside, he knew the results of a full meltdown would be catastrophic, and wanted to save as many people as possible by stopping it manually..." she wiped her eyes, "He also knew the probability of him making it out alive, but he did it anyway."

A true hero, then.

"I hate it down here."

Hearing that, Oliver quirked an eyebrow at her, "Then why-"

"To face my fears, to move on... I used to be too afraid to even come _near_ this place, I would get panic attacks just thinking about it. Barry offered to go with me one day, I don't think I could have gone otherwise." The doctor fell silent for a moment. "This place, despite the bad memories, is a second home to me, Mr. Queen," she abruptly told him, "My team... well, we're like a family."

"I feel the same way about mine." He instantly replied, wondering what she was getting at with this convesation.

Her dark brown eyes stared intensely up at him, "But more than that, they gave me a reason to keep going on. My career - my _life_ \- was over. Now I can help people, put the bad guys away and... well, I'm sure you know what that's like. But none of that matters as much to me as the relationships I have built at S.T.A.R. Labs in the last few months."

"What are you trying to say, exactly, Dr. Snow?"

But he thought he was starting to catch on at this point.

She was worried about her friend being associated with someone so dangerous.

"I'm saying that if you do _anything_ to harm Barry, in _any_ way, that you'll have me to deal with, and Cisco, Felicity, Dr. Wells, Barry's father and brother, his aunt and uncle, Iris West and the _entire_ Central City Police Department." Her tone was completely serious, "You may not feel the same way, and that's fine, you can't control that. But everyone here knows how much he loves you."

The look of shock on his face must have been palpable, because she smiled, though her gaze was still fierce; _protective_. "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I'm not sure how much stock I put in Karma, but know this: If you hurt him, I will _end_ you."

Without another word, the brunette woman stepped around the tall archer, and left without her head held high, a cheerful bounce in her step.

 _Holy shit._

Barry was working with a complete lunatic!

It took Oliver a moment to snap out of his complete state of stunned disbelief, before he left the Pipeline as well. How could anyone think Barry was i _n love_ with him?

Sure, he knew the kid had been his fan from, like, day one, but it didn't mean his feelings were anywhere near romantic.

Even if it were true, surely he would have noticed by now.

Right?

* * *

Running into his ex fling in the coffee shop had bought forth a lot of feelings in Oliver that he had been keeping supressed up until that point.

Sandra Hawke had been the first girl he'd cheated on Laurel with, the second being... _Sara_. He hadn't seen or spoken to her in years, not since that phone call, the one that had managed to shock, relieve and upset him all at once. He'd always been extremely careful when it came to sex, even being young and irresponsible, pregnancy had been on his mind whenever he was with a girl.

But the night he was with Sandra, or Moon as her friends sometimes called her, he'd been drunk, upset and admittedly, scared. Laurel had been trying to convince him that they should get a place together, and then she went on to talk about _marriage_ and the _future_ and...

He'd panicked.

It was a stupid, selfish thing to do and he'd regretted it immediately afterwards, but there was no going back and stopping it from happening.

When he found out he'd gotten her pregnant, it had terrified him.

Oliver had not been ready to be a father, he wasn't sure he ever would be. The tragic news she'd delivered to him, shortly before he got on the Queen's Gambit, that she'd lost the baby...

Well, first he had felt relieved, lucky even, and after that he'd felt like the world's biggest jerk, because he knew how much Sandra had to be suffering emotionally, but he didn't know what to say to her, or how to make better something that he had caused.

Stress could cause miscarriage, he'd read before, and if he had been stressed out by the news then she _definitely_ had to have been. His friends often told him that he took too much blame for things, and maybe that was true, and yet... he couldn't help but wonder how different his life would be had she had the baby.

Would he and Laurel have inevitably broken up once word got out? The baby - what gender would it have been? A little girl or boy? Could Sandra and him have made decent parents if they really tried, been friends, or maybe even more?

He didn't know, and he never would.

* * *

Horrific thoughts and images haunted his dreams that night.

 _An adorable, chubby-faced child - he couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl - standing on top of a grassy, clover-covered hill._

 _Short, dark golden hair ruffled in the wind, chocolate brown eyes - Sandra's eyes - blinked owlishly at him, and then a beaming smile stretched across his child's face, cheeks rosy and glowing, a tiny hand rose into the air, beckoning for him to come over too, mouthing words that he couldn't hear but somehow managed to make out:_

 _"Come on, Daddy! Come play with me!"_

 _Delighted laughter rang through the air._

 _In the dream, he began to move forward, but his legs felt heavy, like lead._

 _Did he really want to do this? Could he handle raising a child?_

 _"Hurry Daddy! Aren't you coming? Momma said you'd play with me!"_

 _Maybe the kid was better off without him..._

 _As he got closer, the child froze, a confused expression on_ _their face. Then, the look was replaced with one of horror, "Look out! Daddy, behind-"_

 _The words were cut off mid-sentence, as an arrow shot passed him, piercing the child through the heart._

 _"NO!"_

 _Oliver sprinted as fast as he could up the hill and dropped to his knees, cradling the child's body to his chest. It was already cold, and pale, blood soaking through their clothes, and he could finally see that it was a boy. His son's gaze was blank and lifeless._

 _He felt sick._

 _Who would kill an innocent child?_

 _God, how would he break the news to Sandra?_

 _Hearing footsteps approach him, he looked up and saw a hooded figure with a bow in hand, grief and anger rushed through every inch of his body, "Malcolm!" he spat out, hatefully, "I should have killed you when I had the chance!". He brushed the young boy's hair from his face, knowing he always hated the long bangs falling into his eyes._

 _But it didn't matter now, did it?_

 _He was dead._

 _A cold chuckle left the murderer's lips, "Look again, Ollie."_

 _What?_

 _Slowly, his eyes scanned over the figure once more, focusing on his face._

 _His **own** face stared back at him. _

_But..._

 _That was impossible!_

 _He would **never** hurt-_

 _A movement caught his attention, and he looked down, only to gape in horror, his son's eyes were staring up at him accusingly, "You killed me, Daddy..." he croaked out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth._

 _"N-No, I didn't-" he cut himself off as the other archer, his duplicate, smirked._

 _"Who are you?" He demanded, surprised by how steady his voice was, given that he just saw his only child murdered before his eyes._

 _"I think you already know the answer to that."_

 _He did, it was him... but not **really** him. It was his darker half, his evil side, the part of him that he had been holding back ever since he promised his dead best friend to change, to honor Tommy's memory. _

_The Arrow._

 _"You really died on that boat, you know you did. The thing that left the island was me, and I'm tired of you getting in my way. Let me loose, just like in the beginning."_

 _"No, it won't be that way ever again!" He shouted, jumping to his feet, fists clenched at his sides, shaking in rage. "How could you kill your own son?!"_

 _"I didn't," The dark vigilante laughed, " **You** killed your son, Oliver. Now come along, we have lots of fun to catch up on. We can go hunt down the real Malcolm Merlyn! Or track down Sara's killer and make them pay. Maybe take out a few street gangs while we're at it, what do you say?" _

_"Those days are over!"_

 _A cruel smile appeared on his counterpart's lips, "On the contrary, they're just beginning." The imposter drew back his bow, and fired._

Oliver woke up in a cold sweat.

* * *

"Don't touch that," The archer told the mechanical engineer shrewdly, " _Or that_."

Why did Felicity bring those two here again?

Seeing Cisco's fascinated expression, he began to tell him what it was he was looking at, "It's a Jettisoning Arrow. Uses compressed-"

He was cut off by the excited young man, "Compressed CO2 to jettison high tensile strength polymer cables."

Oliver let out a long-suffering sigh, "Yep."

You would think he'd get use to the nerdy genius rants at this point, between Felicity and Barry, but _nope!_

His sidekick just seemed completely baffled by the situation, "Since _when_ did we start selling admission to the Arrowcave?"

"It's _not-_ " He turned to glare at Felicity, pointing at her accusingly, "Do you see what you've done?"

The blonde just stared back at him, eyebrow raised in challenge, fiddling with one of her earrings.

Damn Felicity and Roy with their idiotic, cutesy nicknaming of things!

"Incredible," the S.T.A.R. Labs employee chirped enthusiastically, and he turned to find Cisco standing in front of the glass case that was holding his uniform. "I have so many ideas for improvements!"

The vigilante squinted, wondering what he meant by that.

What needed improving?

Cisco then proceeded to run over to the one housing Roy's, "And _this_. Oh, oh man! This-this is the _bomb!_ " he turned to look at the owner of the outfit, "And I mean, red is _so_ much cooler than green, am I right?"

"Mmm..." Roy had a grin on his face, "I am _really_ starting to like this guy."

Of course Cisco would think that - he'd designed the Flash's uniform, which was also red.

But no bias there.

A few minutes later, he was just about ready to kick everyone out of the Foundry due to sheer aggravation, when his phone rang, he answered it instantly, "Diggle?"

Oliver could hear alarms blaring in the background.

 _"We have a bit of a situation here."_ John told him, _"Our man's at A.R.G.U.S. Lyla's here."_ He could detect a hint of barely concealed panic in his friend's voice, _"Oliver, this guy? He's the real deal."_

He ended the call then, before informing the others, "Our target is storming A.R.G.U.S., and Lyla is there."

Immediately, he and Roy began to grab their gear and get ready, while Cisco started to geek out in the background.

"Mmm-hmm! Badass!" He was grinning ear-to-ear, "So _cool!_ "

Caitlin whispered, probably thinking he couldn't hear, "It'll be over by the time they get there."

* * *

It was _not_ over by the time they got there.

Once he and his partner had arrived, they leapt over one of the railings of A.R.G.U.S. and managed to shoot down one of those fucking boomerangs before it could slit Lyla's throat, as it had obviously been used for on numerous other agents, given the amount of dead bodies in the room.

Their guy dodged every single shot fired at him, before diving for cover.

He was quick to disarm Roy of his bow, but luckily the kid was always prepared for that happening and had backup weapons.

Arsenal began trying to fight him off with his two Eskrima sticks that he had on him.

Whoever this bastard was, he was _good_ , and clearly had experience in more than just throwing things, since he was holding his own in unarmed/hand-to-hand combat as well.

Maybe that was how he managed to get the best of Oliver for a few brief seconds, having backed him up against a wall after knocking Roy down with a powerful kick to the chest, because the next thing he knew, two of his razor sharp, steel-edged boomerangs were flying at him.

A sudden blur of red and gold zoomed passed him unexpectedly, twisting gracefully through the air at a breakneck speed and catching them both just seconds before they could impale him.

 _Barry!_

The Arrow was staring at him in shock and awe, wondering just what the kid was doing there, before quickly figuring that either Caitlin or Cisco must have called him.

He'd just saved his life, _again_.

In the confusion of the Flash's arrival, the man managed to throw down a smoke bomb and flee.

Barry looked right at Oliver, grinned, _winked_ , and then dashed out the door.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Felicity asked the moment Oliver and the others arrived back at the Foundry.

He didn't answer, but Lyla did, "Can't work for A.R.G.U.S. without making a few enemies."

That was an understatement.

She sighed, "I'm sorry to involve all of you in this."

At that, Diggle began dumping a plastic baggie filled with pieces of broken boomerangs and explosives onto the table, while his ex-wife/girlfriend/ _whatever_ frowned in disapproval, "Is that A.R.G.U.S. property?"

"It's _evidence_." He replied, flatly.

Just then, Barry returned, zipping into the room in a whirl of flying papers, much to a certain blonde's annoyance, and plopping down in a computer chair, a tray of sushi in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other, his hood was pulled down.

He seemed oblivious to their presence.

"Hey," Caitlin snapped at him, her tone making him look up, " _Secret identity?!_ "

Lyla was staring at the young man, open-mouthed.

The look on Barry's face made it obvious he hadn't even noticed her, he stumbled over his words before eventually say, "...they're married."

"We're not married!" The two of them protested in unison.

Oliver shook his head, the kid _still_ didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

"Or together," He shrugged, and waved towards Diggle with the chopsticks, " _Whatever_. He told her about me."

When John shook his head in response, that was when Barry looked a little flustered, his smile fading. "-You didn't?"

"I keep secrets for a living, man."

"Ah..." The speedster chuckled awkwardly, "My bad."

The brunette woman still seemed stunned, "You're... _you're-_ "

"The Flash," Barry supplied, before holding the plastic tray out towards her, "Sushi?"

Silently, she declined the offer, still staring.

"We need a location on the man who's after Lyla," Oliver stated, finally changing the subject, "His name is George "Digger" Harkness."

Putting his food down on the computer table, the young scientist stood up, "Well, the first step is to work the evidence-"

The archer interrupted him mid-sentence, "Barry, can I speak to you for a moment, please?"

Frowning, he followed the older male, just out of earshot from the rest of the group, "Hey, I, uh, apperciate your help back at A.R.G.U.S., but we have this handled." He said, matter-of-factly.

Barry's face fell, "...You don't want to team up again?"

 _Fuck._

Oliver tried to explain it in a way he would understand. He didn't want to hurt Barry's feelings, but he also didn't think the kid was ready for some of the shit that went down in a place like this. Not as sunny and optimistic as he tended to be.

Actually, that went for the rest of his team, too.

"Things work different here," he told him, "Starling City is... _meaner_."

"I seem to remember helping you pretty good last year," he pointed out, quietly. "And that was without powers. I've been practicing everything you taught me. I'm-I'm casing new environments; I'm not running in blind." His lips turned down in something akin to a pout.

The older man exhaled heavily, his resolve snapped in half just like that. "We do this _my_ way."

"Yes!" A bright grin appeared on his face, "This is going to be awesome." He looked at Oliver eagerly, "Okay. What's our first move?"

"We need to reassemble the evidence," The vigilante informed him, "It will take some time, but it'll-"

 _Swoosh._

Before Oliver could even end his sentence, Barry had raced across the room to where the parts-covered metal tray was sitting, quickly putting the deadly weapons back together, spinning around and sliding them across the table to his friend/mentor.

"...it'll be worth it." The former CEO finished.

Caitlin suppressed a smirk, because even if he was a bit of a show off, it was obvious Barry just wanted to help Oliver, to get his hero's approval.

He was totally trying to impress him.

"Oh, rad!" Cisco chirped, reaching forward to grab one of the boomerangs, "These are a bit more teched out than the one you guys brought to Central City," he stated, examining it. "3D printed polymer with a circuitry weave..."

"Some of Harnkess' boomerangs exploded," Roy said.

The mechanics genius nodded, "Oh, yeah, there are grooves in here that could _definitely_ pack a C4 charge."

"Maybe if we figure out where Harkness got the supplies, we can use that to track him."

Cisco shook his head, "These weren't made by Ka-Boom-Boomerang."

The Arrow's sidekick frowned, "Ka-Boom...Boomerang?" he repeated slowly, his expression incredulous.

"Yeah, you know, he has exploding boomerangs?"

Grinning, Barry shook his head, "That's not your best."

"Really? It makes perfect-"

"Cisco," Oliver cut him off, "If Harkness didn't make them, we need to find out who did."

"And who he made the buy off of," John added.

The engineer seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, " _Markos_. You see this collapsible node design? Dead giveaway. _That's_ his signature."

Felicity was already heading to his computer when the former playboy told her, "We need a location on this-" he faltered, looking at the mechanic over his shoulder.

"Klaus Markos." Cisco supplied helpfully.

"No known home address or place of employement." The blonde told him with a frown, "But he was arrested last year by an officer Quentin Lance."

 _Great._

* * *

Arrow, Arsenal and the Flash were all standing outside of the Bratva.

"I cannot believe you're a member of the Russian mob!"

Barry sounded absolutely thrilled, he was grinning widely with excitement.

" _Former_ member," Oliver corrected, before tilting his head and adding, "Probably. We had a falling out last year. This is where they run their cyber crime operation."

"Hey, nice outfit by the way," He told Roy approvingly, clearly admiring his favorite color.

"This place looks like a fortress."

Diggle joined them just then. "Kalishnikovs everywhere."

Sighing, Oliver began to give out instructions, "Roy, take the southeast corner. Barry, scan the perimeter. Dig-"

John cut him off before he could finish, "I've got northwest."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"You think I'll lose it because Harkness is after Lyla? I'm good." he assured.

Somehow, he doubted that.

As he headed into the building, Barry charged passed him, and by the time he arrived, all of the men were unconscious in their seats and restrained with zipties, of all things.

Seeing the look on his face, the young man shrugged and headed over to him, "I had like eight seconds to kill."

"Er, was that wrong?" Ignoring the boy, Oliver headed passed him, hearing his friend sigh, "What?"

It wasn't that he did anything _wrong_ , exactly, but he didn't want to explain himself, especially not here of all places, besides, it was... complicated.

Oliver had been thinking a lot about what Caitlin had told him, and everything he had realized over the last couple of weeks. He was getting close to Barry, _too close_. The attraction to him he'd already accepted, that wasn't such a big deal - the kid was good looking, for sure, and... he wasn't _blind_.

But he _was_ wary.

He saw how Barry looked at him occasionally, green eyes sparkling with admiration, and at times, something more.

It wasn't a good thing.

The Arrow had made a ton of enemies over the course of almost a decade, a lot of bad, dangerous people had it out for him. Whatever crush of sorts Barry had on him, _whatever_ was between them, it couldn't happen, he wasn't going to let it get any further.

Not when it could put Barry in danger.

Sure, the speedster may have fought those "Metahumans", and yes some of them had been killers. But they weren't _like_ the people Oliver had come across. They weren't ruthless, hardened, evil _psychopaths_ that wanted to see him and everyone he loved torn to pieces and left in pools of their own blood.

He was not someone Barry should be looking up to, he'd never told him that, but it was the truth. Oliver had done some sick, twisted things in his life for the sake of survival, and now he had to live with the consequences, but the people he cared about shouldn't have to.

Still, he knew if he did tell him this, the boy wouldn't take him seriously, he didn't realize how child's play Central City was when compared to Starling, there was no taking it easy.

No remorse, no mercy.

He had to make him see that one way or another, before either of them got in too deep.

If he couldn't convince him with his words, he'd have to do it another way.

By showing him.

Though it wasn't anything he looked forward to, it was necessary to keep him safe.

Without acknowledging the kid tagging along behind him, he proceeded to kick in the Bratva's office door.

Klaus Markos jumped to his feet, and tried to make a break for it.

In an instant, Barry was in front of him, smiling cheerfully, "My friend wants to have a conversation with you." With that said, he quickly pinned the mobster up against the shelf, ignoring his struggles.

Was he really able to do this?

Could he actually torture a man, even a lowlife criminal, in front of someone as vibrant and naive as Barry?

Even if it _was_ to protect him?

"You made this for Digger Harkness," Oliver growled out, holding up one of the boomerangs, his voice was cold and authoritative, "I want to know where he is."

"Go to hell!" Markos spat at him.

Inwardly cursing, the archer reached behind him and grabbed an arrow out of his quiver.

He almost couldn't bring himself to do it. But he _had_ to, he needed the kid to see exactly who it was - _what it was_ \- that he was infatuated with, he had to destroy any romantic feelings Barry might have had for him before they were both in too deep.

Oliver fired the arrow, and it pierced right through the mobster's shoulder.

He heard Barry let out a cry at the same time that Markos screamed, but he didn't glance at his friend, he couldn't. He didn't want to see the look on his face, see the faith in his mentor shatter into pieces as he finally put together what darkness was lingering inside of him.

Klaus was groaning and grunting from the pain when he approached him, "The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in, is an arrow _coming out!_ " he grabbed the shaft of the arrow and wrenched it, ripping a screech of agony from his throat.

"Whoa, hey! W-What are you _doing?_ " The shaky tone of the younger man's voice caused him to hesitate briefly, he could hear so many things in that simple question - shock, fright, confusion, horror - he didn't expect the powerful twist of dread in his gut that it would cause, though.

Scaring Barry away would keep him safe.

His resolve hardened, "Getting information!" he snapped, giving the arrow another viscious tug without removing it, "Where is he?!"

"I don't know!" Klaus yelped, his face scrunched up with anguish.

"He-he said he doesn't know!"

Oliver barely kept the charade up.

He'd done this a hundred times before, a thousand even. This was no different. It was just _Barry_ , he could do this, he had to, it was the right thing.

"He's lying!" The archer snarled, focusing on his resolve, glaring at Klaus, "If you want to be able to raise you arm again, _tell me where he is!_ "

"Agh! Here!" His free hand held up a slim black phone, "Harkness gave it to me. I-It's encrypted, I had an order ready for him. I called, he came... but I don't know where he is, I swear. I _swear!_ "

Taking the phone from the mobster, Oliver took one glance at Barry's face and instantly had to leave the room, unable to bear the utterly _crushed_ look on his face.

A moment later the younger man sped by him, with Markos, probably to bring him to the police station.

It didn't matter.

* * *

Oliver was going through the Bratva's files on Klaus's computer when Barry returned.

"Felicity can crack the encryption," he said as he turned around, holding up the phone, "Use this to track down Harkness."

"...You tortured that guy."

The tone of voice his friend used surprised him, it wasn't like earlier.

It was much worse.

Barry had removed his hood, and he was staring at the archer. His expression was angry, and hurt, but what he hadn't expected to see was the look of _betrayal_.

He was looking at Oliver as if the older man had stabbed him in the back.

"I interrogated him." He said simply, allowing zero emotion to show.

The young man scoffed, running his fingers through his hair a couple of times, he let out a breath, "When my friends said your tactics made you a criminal, I defended you because I thought you were supposed to be a _hero_." His voice broke on the last word, "I thought we were supposed to be better than them."

His pain is audible, and it hurt more than Oliver had expected, the conversation they were having, the inevitable fallout that he _forced_ to happen.

"Barry," he sighed, "You live in Central City, where it's sunny all of the time and your enemies get cute nicknames. You're _not_ in Central City, I told you that when you got here." His voice had a razor edge, using the sarcasm to hide any trace of the truth from the kid.

"Yeah." The speedster muttered, rolling his eyes.

He'd offended him.

For some reason, it angered him. This wasn't what he wanted, or what he had expected. What he wanted was for Barry to shout at him, call him a monster, tell him he never wanted to see him again, or even run away... he didn't want _that look_ though, the pained, devastated one that was tugging sharply at his heart.

Taking a step closer to him, Oliver had to force back the apology that nearly spilled from his lips, instead he got louder. "I live in a city where my best friend was killed by his own father, where a woman that I loved was shot full of arrows and sent tumbling off a rooftop, where my mother was murdered right in front of me. So before you-"

"My mother was murdered right in front of me, too." Barry's ice cold tone made him stop short, that detail having completely slipped his mind.

He felt immediately guilty, but pushed it aside.

"She was stabbed through the heart and left to bleed to death by some kind of _monster_ , remember? Then, when I was twelve-" he cut himself off, his face seemed to get even paler than usual, before he apparently decided not to finish the sentence, "Don't try to tell me that you're the only one who's suffered, Oliver, because you're not! I have too. But I don't use my personal tragedies as an excuse to just torture whoever pisses me off."

Through gritted teeth, Oliver told him, "Well, I'm sorry, Barry, I guess I'm just not as emotionally healthy as you are." He started to leave, turning his back on the younger boy.

"What's _wrong_ with you?!" The speedster demanded, hurt evident in his voice, "Why are you acting this way?"

Again with that pathetic confusion, as if someone had kicked his puppy and he was trying to understand the motive behind it.

Oliver closed his eyes tightly for a moment, let out a breath, then opened them and looked back at the kid, "When we agreed that you were staying, we decided that it would be on my terms. If that is proving too difficult for you to handle, you know your way back to Central City."

* * *

When he arrived back at the Foundry, Barry wasn't there.

Oliver didn't know how to feel about that - relieved, disappointed, or angry. In the end he decided to just accept it, after all, he had chosen to make this happen. He had practically choreographed a fight between them, because it was the only way to make Barry understand who he was, what he was capable of, and why Starling City wasn't a good place for him to be.

Looking up at his entrance, Caitlin frowned slightly, looking around, "Where's Barry?"

Not wanting to answer a bunch of questions right now, he simply shrugged and walked passed her.

Cisco seemed confused, "He turned his comm and tracker off, maybe he wanted a bit of privacy or something?"

Doubtful, but he decided not to comment.

* * *

The Arrow didn't expect Barry to show up at his base of operations about thirty minutes later.

He had been waiting for Felicity to crack the encryption on the phone Markos gave him when he appeared at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall for support and breathing heavily.

Wait, what?

Barry was _never_ winded.

"Where did you go?" Caitlin demanded as she stomped over to him, immediately checking his pulse while he swatted her away.

"Nowhere," He muttered, pulling his hood back, sitting down on the stairs.

"Like I believe that," his physician stated, "You're sweating, and your heartrate is faster than usual. That's not good. Have you eaten anything today, Barry? You look a little-"

"Cait!" His snappiness made her stop short, "I'm not hungry, _okay?_ I'm fine!"

Dr. Snow's expression looked hurt for a moment, before it cleared, and she gave his shoulder a light squeeze, sensing how upset he was, "Fine, but don't come crawling back to me when you pass out again because your glucose levels drop and I need to set whatever bone you broke for being a stubborn idiot." She huffed and headed back over to where her friends were.

The young hero had shut his eyes, resting his head against the railing, and letting out a sigh when the woman left.

Because of this, he didn't see the flicker of concern on Oliver's face as he overheard their conversation, particularly how he refused to let his doctor examine him, and as he was so fixated on his friend, he didn't notice the way Caitlin Snow's gaze was shifting between the two.

Could today get any worse?

Apparently so, because Felicity seemed to be struggling to access the phone.

Everyone was standing around in relative silence for awhile, until Lyla approached him, "Everything all right between you and Speedy?"

Oliver looked at her in confusion, "What? Roy? Yeah, we're fine."

Weren't they?

A smile of amusement appeared on her lips, and she nodded towards the stairs."I meant the Ruby Racer over there."

"Oh." He glanced in that direction, and saw Barry immediately look away when he noticed. It made his stomach twist painfully. "We had a... difference of opinion about the way the world works." He said simply.

Lyla sighed, "Yep. I know what that's like."

Her eyes shifted to Diggle.

"Well, sometimes they don't see it."

She tilted her head, understanding passed over her face, "There are people in the world who deal only in extremes-"

He knew where she was going with that sentence.

The archer cut her off, "-And it would be naive to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them."

The A.R.G.U.S. agent nodded in agreement, "Sometimes bravery isn't enough. Sometimes the world requires us to be bold."

"Whatever the personal cost."

* * *

"You're late."

There was a grin on Barry's face as he taunted him, but the cheer didn't quite reach his eyes. Someone tried to sneak up behind the speedster, and Oliver was quick to take him down with a sedative.

"I, uh, knew he was there." He said, not very convincingly, "He's not...dead, right?"

Did the young man _really_ think he would kill somebody if he didn't have to?

"Tranq arrow," He answered stiffly, "Ketamine. Same thing I used on you in Central City."

Barry blinked, and then shrugged slightly.

"Cisco has the van running," Diggle informed them, lowering his firearm as he looked around, taking in the tied up goons and the one on the floor. "I see you've met Harkness's hired muscle."

"Harkness isn't here."

"Hey!" Oliver approached one of the men, "Where's Digger Harkness?"

"Never met 'em. But he paid us 10Gs to give you this." He handed the archer another phone.

"Ten'll get you twenty this belongs to Harkness."

The Arrow looked at his friend, "What does that mean?"

It was the red-clad young speedster that answered, "That Harkness played you."

 _Oh, fuck._

"We need to get back to the Foundry. Now."

* * *

By the time they got back, Harkness had already made his move.

Oliver arrived downstairs to find that Felicity and Caitlin had crowded around the table.

Sprawled out on it was Lyla.

It was obvious she'd been hit by one of the boomerangs.

She was breathing, but her body was deathly still, her tank top was soaked in her own blood, and she looked horribly pale.

"Lyla!" John ran to his spouse's side, "Lyla..." He took her face in his hands, his expression tight with worry, "She's not moving." He looked to Caitlin, being the only one among them that was an actual doctor, and one with training in surgery.

"I've got her stabilized, but I can't operate on her here."

Diggle turned around, a desperate expression on his face, "Barry-" he began.

His boss cut in, "Starling General's at Eighth and Wilcott." He said, figuring that the kid wouldn't know his way around Starling City after only a couple of short visits so far.

"I'm on it." The young man didn't even hesitate, he crossed the room and lifted the unconscious woman into his arms, keeping her head against his chest so as not to disturb her wound, taking a few steps before he vanished in a streak of golden sparks.

No one complained about papers flying around the room this time.

* * *

Oliver could hear Barry behind him.

As light as his footsteps were, his senses were all extremely keen.

"This is all my fault." He said, despite the fact that the last thing he wanted to do was unload more of his problems on the kid, he still felt like he needed to tell _someone_. Back on the island, and in China, he got used to keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself, but ever since his makeshift team had assembled, he was starting to realize that he needed people more than he'd initially believed.

Watching him silently for a moment, Barry shook his head despite the older male not being able to see it, "It's really not."

"I tortured Markos to give up that phone." Sure, that might have been only one of the reasons, but it still made him responsible for what happened after the fact. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me."

"...I get the feeling that you don't say that very often."

It was true.

Oliver turned to look at him, "To do what I do, Barry, it takes... _conviction_."

That's what Amanda Waller had drilled into him.

His friend took a few steps forward, arms curling around himself, listening carefully.

"But, more often than not... it's the will to do what's ugly," he continued, and Barry frowned at him, "Every time I do that, I'm-I'm trading away little pieces of myself. So, you asked what's wrong with me, that's...that's what's wrong, because the part that I'm trading away is Oliver Queen." He paused for a moment, the heavy weight on his chest seemed to get lighter, the more he spoke. "And lately, I've been feeling like there is... nothing left except the Arrow."

The young man stared at him for a few long seconds, he appeared to be deep in thought, but eventually spoke, "...I think you're full of crap."

Not exactly the response he was expecting.

Oliver rose an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything, he had a feeling the kid wasn't done.

Pacing for a moment, Barry sighed, "Look, you've...convinced yourself that everything you've been through took away your humanity. But _I_ think it's because of your humanity that you made it through." His expression was intense, warm green eyes fixed on the vigilante, "You wouldn't have survived, much less come out the other end a hero, somebody who _wants_ to do good, if you didn't have a light inside you."

 _What?_

Barry... he really felt that way?

He tried to think of something to say, he really did, but no words would come out.

Just how was he meant to reply to _that?_

At that exact moment, Felicity walked in, and the silence was broken by the revelation that she had found Harkness.

The glance Oliver and the younger boy exchanged then said it all.

He supposed they would save the talking for later.

Right now, they were going to take the bastard down.

* * *

They found him at the terminal, exactly where the blonde said he would be.

Barry cleared the area of people (and potential hostages) within a matter of seconds, leaving the three of them alone.

Notching an arrow, Oliver all but growled at him, "Get on the ground!"

Harkness pointed at the two of them, paused, and then burst into chuckles, "Why would I want to do that?"

"You hurt a friend of mine." He stated, coldly, "You really think there's anywhere in the world you could run where we won't find you?

The man tilted his head, "Hmm... Probably not." He locked eyes with the archer, "Which is why I have a contingency in place." He held up a tiny remote and before they could do anything, he pressed the button.

It beeped, glowing red.

"Five bombs." At his words, Barry looked at Oliver with unmistakable fear, "Planted throughout Starling. Now, you can stop me, or you can stop the bombs. But you can't do both." He waved the device tauntingly at them. "The bombs are armed, in 90 seconds, this city will be on fire."

The speedster was still staring at the older male, waiting for him to make the call.

"Go."

He was gone in a flash of light.

Oliver began firing arrows at Harkness, and he used one of his boomerangs to ricochet several of them away.

Fed up, he ran at the criminal, dodging the throwing weapons as he did so, running up a wall to build enough centripedal force to jump over one of them before it could explode, fighting Harkness in close combat for a few seconds, before landing a powerful enough kick to his chest to slam him up against one of the posts.

Shooting off an arrow, it embedded itself into the wall a half an inch or so from the man's neck, intentional on his part of course, a silent warning for him to keep still.

He took a step towards him, "Stop the countdown!"

"Go to hell."

"Last chance!" Oliver snarled.

"Or what?" Harkness challenged, "You'll inflict pain?"

Seeing the man before him tense, he grinned, "Ah, I can tell you've done it before. So, let me ask you this - why are you hesitating?"

He knew exactly why, but _damn_ , did his conscience have to kick in _now_ of all times?!

"Ten more seconds," Digger taunted. "You should be able to see at least, ah... three, explosions from here."

Pissed off, Oliver reached behind him, to fetch an arrow from his quiver.

But he hesitated.

...Too late, the countdown reached zero.

After a few seconds, when nothing happened, the cocky expression on Digger Harkness's face faded.

The archer dropped his hand to his side, silently relieved.

He exhaled, "Oh, you think you've accomplished something here? You think you not killing me makes you strong? It just means you're weak!" He gave his foe a look of disgust.

Yet it didn't bother Oliver.

A whooshing sound indicated Barry was back.

"No," he disagreed, "It means I have some humanity left."

Oliver went to leave, making it a few steps away before he saw an abrupt change in his friend's expression, and whipped around, shooting the man that was about to attack them, the arrow pierced through the palm of his hand and pinned it against the wall, causing him to groan in pain.

When he turned around, Barry had a wry grin on his face, "You just couldn't resist, could you?"

Relief flooded through him.

* * *

Later that evening, Barry and Oliver were just heading back downstairs after having gone to grab some coffee after visiting Diggle and Lyla, and overheard the others talk to each other.

"-It's cool, you guys are fun," Roy said, smiling.

"So are you guys," Cisco said, but paused, then added, "Well, you _could_ be, if you realized you were working under a nightclub."

Rolling his eyes, Oliver patted the young engineer on the shoulder as he walked passed, "If saving the world from terrorists isn't enough excitement for you, maybe you guys should come back sometime so you can go clubbing upstairs." He said sarcastically, before immediately realizing his mistake.

Cisco's face lit up.

 _Shit_.

"Oh, did you guys take care of business?"

He nodded, "Digger Harkness is now cell mates with one Slade Wilson." He stated.

Felicity clapped once, obviously relieved.

"Yeah. We've got a Pipeline," Barry sighed at his friends, "He's got a gorgeous tropical island."

"With the landmines."

Caitlin blinked, "Hmm? What?"

The blonde looked up, "It's a long story."

It actually wasn't, but she probably didn't want to explain it because her fear of heights would end up slipping out.

Just then, Barry noticed the new glass case and mannequin in the room, "What's this?"

"Oh, Oliver helped me put that in while you guys were at the hospital."

Turning to look between him and Felicity, realization dawned across his face, "Wait... this is for me?"

The vigilante nodded, arms crossed, attempting to look nonchalant, "For the next time you're in town..."

Mostly, though, it was his way of apologizing for being a dick.

A stunning smile that managed to light up the whole room crossed Barry's face at his words, and he couldn't help the warm sensation he felt at the sight, "There'll be a next time?" he asked, hardly allowing himself to hope.

Oliver couldn't contain his own grin, "I'm still calling the shots."

"We'll talk about that." The Metahuman responded, his tone was completely giddy.

The archer hummed in agreement, "Yes, we will. And then I'll call the shots."

Barry chuckled, before his eyes brightened, "Oh! Cisco-"

The mechanical engineer nodded, "Right, I forgot. We got a gift for you, too, Oliver."

At that, the former CEO uncrossed his arms, honestly curious.

"Early Christmas present." Cisco walked over and lifted the lid off of a box he hadn't even noticed up until that point.

When he saw what it was, his eyes widened, "Whoa."

It was a new uniform jacket, dark green of course, but it looked lighter and softer than the one he'd had before, and... it had Shado's hood attached to it.

"Turns out S.T.A.R. Labs' industrial fabricator was based out of Starling, so... Polymer-Kevlar weave." He reached down to pick it up as the man explained what it was, "It's 25% lighter and can carry 15% more gear. I've got designs I'm working up that I'm really excited by." He said with a wide grin.

Oliver was admittedly impressed, "It's, uh, subtle."

"I wanted to replace the hood," Cisco told him, "But, um, Felicity said it had sentimental value."

She gave him a knowing smile.

"Thank you," he said earnestly.

"Any time."

Roy looked at the trio, "Are you guys headed back?"

The brunette bit her lip, "It's possible that Dr. Wells didn't sign off on us leaving town."

Eyeing Barry, the sidekick had to ask, "Hey. Do you still, like, take the train?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, sure. If I feel like taking a nap." Then his lips curled up in a little smirk, "But... Oliver and I have some unfinished business to take care of first."

Caitlin hesitated, "You guys aren't going to punch each other, are you?"

The two boys shared a look.

* * *

Once they'd arrived at the warehouse, Barry had to ask, "You could have invited everybody, they'd like this."

"Well, no." Oliver looked at him with a smile, "They would _love_ this, but this is just for the two of us."

"You mean the one of you," The younger man pointed at him, like a smartass, "This was your idea."

He shook his head and chuckled, "You can't expect me to believe that you don't want to know, once and for all, who would with - me or you."

"You mean if you don't shoot me in the back."

A groan left the older of the two, "You've got to get over that, Barry."

The speedster gave him a look of amused exasperation, "Okay, I have _superpowers_. You have arrows that run out."

Oliver rolled his eyes, "I have strategy and tactical awareness."

"When I'm fighting you, it's _literally_ like you're standing still." Barry pointed out.

He chuckled, "That's tough talk, you ready to back it up?"

"Oh yeah," the Metahuman told him confidently, "Hey, by the way..."

The older male turned around, "Yeah?"

"You were wrong." Barry told him, before taking in the man's confused expression, "When you told me, on that roof top, that I could inspire people, you said you couldn't. But you were wrong," he paused, briefly, a smile touching his lips. "You can inspire. Not as the Arrow - that guy's a douche."

He laughed, genuinely, for the first time in what felt like forever.

"But as Oliver Queen."

Twice, in one day, Barry had left him utterly speechless.

After everything that had happened, the kid still seemed to only notice the best in him, even when the worst should have far outweighed it at this point.

Suddenly, the vigilante found it difficult to breathe.

He just wanted to take the younger man into his arms and-

 _No._

Forcing down the feelings that were attempting to overwhelm him, and in spite of the slight anxiety that his realization gave him, Oliver couldn't help but smile, "Thank you, Barry. You have no idea what that means, especially coming from you."

Barry crinkled his nose, "From me?" he asked.

 _You're special._

Instead of answering, the hunter grinned, "Since we're sharing, you were wrong, too."

"When?"

He took a few steps back, both physically and emotionally, turning his back to the kid to put some distance between them.

"Right now, because you think you can kick my ass. I can tell." He smirked over his shoulder.

The bright smile on Barry's face returned, "All right, well, if you think you can kick mine, you'd better do it quickly." He challenged.

"I get it, Barry, _I get it_. You're fast."

A sudden gust of air in the warehouse indicated he had taken off to the other side of the room, getting ready.

When he turned back around, he had his bow in position, "Ready-"

"Set-"

They called it on unison, "GO!"

Oliver was quick to start firing off arrows, one right after another with piercing accuracy and skill, his sharp eyes were kept leveled on his target, whom he knew was liable to vanish at any time using his special abilities.

It didn't happen right away.

His partner, expecting this, caught the first two arrows, grinning a little as he remembered the lessons that taught him to do so, before he bolted forward, dodging the next one that flew in his direction, causing it to embed itself into a pillar a few feet behind him.

Then, the younger man was flying at the elder, and managed to actually knock the bow out of his mentor's hands.

It made him smirk, clearly the kid was wary about getting shot again.

Not that he blamed him, that shit hurt like hell.

Being a trained and notably more experienced fighter, Oliver rather easily managed to fend Barry off despite his increased speed making his movements somewhat difficult to predict. Dodging a good majority of his punches, the archer did a chain of spinning kicks and twists that the younger boy did his best to avoid.

To anyone watching, it would have seemed like an actual fight, not two close friends sparring together just _because_.

But the way the pair moved did look like a legit battle, one with deadly precision and the other with an impossible grace, a flurry of quick evasive manuvers and striking limbs, though up close their smiles were unmistakable, they were having the time of their lives.

Just the Arrow and Flash.

As the man in green aimed a punch at the one in red, he caught his friend's fist in a replica of the move Oliver had used on him when he was under Bivolo's influence, bringing the elbow of his opposite arm down against the other's chest hard enough to knock the air out of him temporarily, taking that moment to spin him around, so the older man's back was pressed against his front, arm wrapped around his neck, just tight enough to restrain his movement.

Both of them were panting from the adrenaline rush.

"Got you," Barry told him, triumphantly.

 _Not quite._

Just because the were considered heroes it didn't mean that they didn't also occasionally play dirty, especially when it was just for their enjoyment. Bracing himself for what he was about to do, Oliver tossed his head back, causing it to slam into the Flash's jaw, temporarily stunning him and leaving him disoriented.

He spun around, breaking the speedster's hold on him, and before he could recover, his left leg swung out, curling behind the CSI's knees, knocking them out from under him.

What he didn't predict happening, however, was Barry instinctively reaching out and grabbing the front of his uniform in order to help regain his balance. It didn't work like that. The force of Oliver's kick caused him to pull his mentor-of-sorts down on top of him.

Silence, and then...

"Looks like I win this round."

The younger man smiling brilliantly up at him didn't help with Oliver's breathlessness, at all.

"I guess so," he agreed, sounding cheery despite that, pulling his hood back.

Both of them were quiet for a moment, and Oliver was about to get off of the kid, but then he made the mistake of looking into Barry's eyes.

At first they seemed simply green to him. Beautiful, emerald green, but green nonetheless. Though the longer he gazed at them, he realized they were actually _hazel_. Golden brown was visible closer to the irises, getting darker, and the area around the rings nearly amber in color. Despite this, the archer also knew for a fact that in brighter, more natural lights than they were under, they almost looked blue at times.

Unable to cast his gaze away, his thoughts fuzzy and clouded, the hand he wasn't using to prop himself up reached forward, resting it against the Metahuman's cheek.

Instead of flinching away, Barry tilted his head up slightly, his eyes a bit wider with surprise, but he didn't speak to protest the action. His thumb stroked down his cheekbone, tracing his soft features unthinkingly, and his friend shivered in response, whether from the cool leather of his glove or something else, he wasn't sure.

"Oliver..." he murmured, and the sound broke the spell.

Realizing what the hell he was doing, the vigilante began to back off, inwardly cursing at himself as he was reminded of the fact that the two of them were completely alone, and he was on _top_ of the kid, _touching him_.

Before he could actually get up, a blur of two hands shot out and grabbed him by the shoulders, and he found himself once more staring down at Barry, who had begun to sit up. Their eyes were locked, breathing now impossibly quiet, it was obvious neither of them really knew what to say.

That was when it happened.

An impossibly quick movement which he wouldn't have noticed had they not been merely inches from one another.

Barry's gaze fell lower, landing on the older male's mouth.

He cracked.

In an instant, Oliver's lips were on the younger man's, capturing, _claiming_. He felt the speedster tense up against him for the briefest of seconds, clearly shocked, but then his eyes slid shut, and he melted into it, the hands on his mentor's shoulders curled, clinging to him.

It began gentle, captivating, even _sweet_ , the fire came after.

All it took was the softest pressure of Barry's mouth moving back against his own, and desire was igniting the world around them. Oliver cupped his hand against the back of his head, drawing him closer, impossibly so, fingers slowly winding through his dark, silky hair.

He heard - _felt_ \- the younger man gasp softly, beginning to push himself up, attempting to make the angle less awkward, still gripping the vigilante tightly.

Without breaking the contact, Oliver swung one of his legs over Barry's, bracing himself on either side of him, leaning forward so the forensicist could lay back, and he was hovering over him. His hand moved to caress the boy's cheek gently once more, and with a slightly harder press of their mouths, the Metahuman let out a quiet moan into the deep kiss.

Lust searing through his veins at the sound, he took the opportunity to dip his tongue into the speedster's warm mouth.

Barry turned his head more, his hand wrapped around the back of Oliver's neck, clutching onto him. Ragged breathing and battling tongues only made the passionate infero between them grow; it seemed to last for an eternity, in the best possible way.

As their lips finally pulled apart, a metaphorical breeze fluttered over the flame, extinguishing the raging heat between them. The two men were left panting, desperately gasping for air, their faces were flushed and the intensity was starting to fade away as the world slowly came back into focus.

Neither of them spoke for several long minutes, simply gazing at one another, at a loss for words.

Finally, the younger of the two spoke, nearly whispering, "That-that was...nice." His eyes were wide, darker than usual, nearly jade in color, his cheeks tinged pink. He offered his mentor a small smile, clearly just as unsure about the whole situation, but when the other didn't speak, nervousness flickered across his features.

"Oliver...?"

Silently, the man pulled away, lifting himself off of the speedster and rising to his feet, holding a hand to help him up.

Looking worried and uncertain, Barry grabbed the archer's extended limb, using it to pull himself to his feet.

They stared at each other, again, and the warehouse was completely silent apart from their now quiet breathing, while the archer was standing so still he looked almost like a statue.

Barry shifted his weight, his eyes drifted to the floor, and then the ceiling.

Finally, he turned back to the hunter, beginning to fidget, "Oliver, please say something... You're starting to freak me out."

"I'm sorry, Barry."

The Flash blinked, a stunned expression on his face.

Did Oliver Queen just _apologize?_

It was probably the first non-sarcastic time he'd ever heard anything like it from the man.

He wasn't sure how to feel, but eventually settled for confused.

"For...for what, exactly?"

"This," Despite the anxious tightening in his stomach, Barry couldn't help but lean into the touch when Oliver's hand pressed against his cheek, sparks going off just like it had the first time. The hand then curled under his chin, tipping his head back, their eyes met once more. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

Dread suddenly overwhelmed the tingly warmth he'd been feeling.

"What?" His eyes snapped open, and Oliver nearly winced at the shocked, _wounded_ look in his eyes. "Why not? I-I liked it... I kissed you back!" His voice had raised an octave, unable to mask how he was feeling. He'd imagined the other man kissing him so _many_ damn times, and now that he had... this was happening?

"I know," The voice Oliver used was too soft, too kind. Like he was trying to lessen the blow that was to come. "But it was still a mistake." He took a deep breath, as though what came next was painful to say. "We can't... I'm not good for you, Barry."

 _I'm not good for anyone._

He could see the hurt written all across the younger boy's face, and it made him feel horrible, but it was better to do things this way. Scaring him off hadn't worked, and if tonight had proven anything, it was that even when his most dangerous enemies were locked away, someone would always be targeting Starling City as a whole.

It wasn't safe to have Barry around, putting his life and the lives of his friends in danger. Oliver did enough of that for everyone. This was one of the harder things he knew he would have to do, but with the feelings between them confirmed, he couldn't afford to let the attraction get any stronger, he hoped someday the kid would see that.

The kiss just showed him that he was unable to restrain himself, he had to end whatever this was, permanently.

Barry took it a different way though, and stepped back, unable to bear the other man's touch anymore, it just seemed cruel now, the sparks from earlier now felt like painful electric jolts. "You mean I'm not good enough _for_ you."

He had to look away, he didn't want his friend to see the moisture he could feel building in his eyes.

Drawing his lips into a tight line, Oliver shook his head, because that wasn't even _close_ to what he meant, it was the farthest thing from what he felt. He could't let Barry think that _that_ was the case. "I didn't say that-" he began, but his companion cut him off.

"You didn't have to."

But the speedster was gone before he could utter another word.

The physical pain he'd felt in his lifetime was nothing compared to what the Metahuman's absence left behind.

He knew that Barry would forever be his biggest _what if?_

 _It's for the best._

When had he stopped believing his own lies?

* * *

 **Holy shit, this chapter took forever to write, and while I don't think it's some of it was the best I've ever done, I still feel oddly satisfied by it.**

 **I hope you do too, leave a reply and let me know what you think!**


	10. Reflective Hearts

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Barry wondered if this was what heartbreak felt like.

The painful, soul-crushing despair he was expeiencing. It wasn't like the sting of rejection he had felt before. No, what he was currently feeling was raw and sharp and damn near _unbearable_. Once he got to his apartment, he locked the door behind him, leaning heavily against it before sliding down to the floor, despite having been on top of the world less than ten minutes, he didn't feel like he could take another step.

For once, he was glad he lived alone.

It could have been minutes or hours that he was sitting there, thinking, _hurting_.

When Oliver kissed him, it had been shocking, and definitely in more ways than one; it was absolutely _electric_. Every nerve in his body had been burning. It was by far the most intense kiss he'd ever had. He had felt like he was dreaming, because never in his wildest fantasies had he ever contemplated that anything would ever happen between them in reality.

As far as he had known, the guy was one hundred percent straight.

But then he had to go and ruin it.

His chest hurt, it was a slow moving pain that went from his heart before taking over his entire being. Crushing, desolate, _agonizing_. It had been hard enough to admit to himself that he had been falling for the vigilante, and to be seen that vulnerable in front of a person who made you _feel so strongly_ , and then told by that very same person that you weren't good enough...

Now he understood why his brother refused to date.

What person in their right mind would want to go through _this?_

* * *

 _"Cut the crap, B."_

Frowning as he stirred the pasta on the stove, Barry shifted the phone so it was wedged between his shoulder and head, freeing both of his hands to start grating the cheese, "What are you talking about, Bas? All I said was "fine", or were we not having the same conversation just now?"

 _"Oh, we definitely were."_ Sebastian replied on the other end, _"But I know you, Barry, and I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me, even over the phone. I asked you how you were and I wanted you to be honest with me - not spew out the same bullshit you do to everyone down at the precinct."_

"I am telling the truth, everything's okay."

A lie, of course, but he wasn't about to share his pathetic, fucked up lovelife (or lack of therefore) with his brother.

 _"Seriously, Barry. My twin telepathy doesn't lie. Now spill the beans and tell me what's really going on, you know I'll find out one way or the other."_

Not likely.

He may have been very smart and intuitive, but Barry still had several secrets he'd managed to hide from Sebastian for quite a while.

"I stopped believing that when I was nine, remember?" He stuck the sauce in the microwave to heat it up.

A sigh came through on the line, _"Please tell me this isn't about Iris again? I told you, you can do so much better than her."_

Barry swallowed down the lump in his throat, "I've told you before, we're just friends."

 _"So it's about some other girl, then?"_

Not a girl.

"I never said that."

 _"You didn't have to,"_ Sebastian replied simply.

The young speedster shut his eyes for a moment, chewing his lower lip, before figuring the only way to get his brother off of his back was to give him something to work with. "Okay, yes, it's about someone I met... before the accident, I mean."

 _"What's her name?"_

Fuck.

"Um...Olivia."

He was really not that good under pressure, Sebastian was going to see right through him!

 _"Alright, so, tell me what happened."_

Barry blinked in surprise, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. Looked like he did believe it, then. "It started off with her not really liking me too much, but we ended up as friends... sort of." he sighed, and began taking up his dinner. "After I woke up from the coma I went to see her, and we had a long talk, kept in touch... texting and phone calls. I had feelings for awhile but I never said anything because it seemed like...she didn't feel the same way."

This was harder to talk about than he thought it would be, because even if Sebastian didn't know who he really meant, just discussing it was painful enough.

"We started getting closer, and one day... she just kissed me. But after, she said it was a mistake and it shouldn't happen again, something about her not being "good for me". We haven't spoken since."

 _"Sounds like you're in love with a moron, B."_ Sebastian's light-tone was meant to soften the blow, he knew, but it didn't.

Was it really that obvious he had been in love?

" _I mean, I get the whole brooding, emo I'm-destined-to-be-alone-forever thing can be sexy sometimes, but that's usually limited to shitty supernatural fiction that makes teenage girls swoon. This Olivia chick sounds like she needs some reality knocked into her. If you both like each other there is literally nothing keeping you apart."_

There was a momentary pause, _"Someone who spits out stuff like that is either really full of it, or so out of touch with reality that they think they're some kind of monster that deserves to be miserable, either way, I think you should talk to her. It's so dramatic and ridiculous, I think you just need to call her out on it and make your feelings clear, maybe it'll get her to pull her head out of her-"_

"I get it!" Barry cut him off, "Look, I've got to go, I'll talk to you later."

He hung up before the other could say anything, staring down at his dinner with a sudden loss of appetite.

Was Sebastian right? In his own less-than-eloquent way, was he trying to explain what most people knew about Oliver Queen anyways?

He figured the guy had to have a lot to deal with, after everything he'd been through, and at the same time... Barry couldn't help being kind of pissed off. It was one thing for the archer to try to scare him off by trying to make himself seem like a villain, but refusing to be with someone - with anyone - as some form of self-punishment? That _did_ sound stupid.

Or maybe Oliver had just been afraid, he had lost a lot of people he cared about. Then again, there was also the fact that when he was younger, he was known for having the commitment issues from hell, but the island had changed that, hadn't it?

Barry wasn't quite sure what to think.

Either way, if Oliver didn't want to be with him, for _whatever_ reason, there was nothing he could do.

Besides move on.

* * *

Empty.

That was what he had been feeling for the past week. It had been hard, pretending that everything had been okay for his friends and family, offering fake, cheerful smiles and acting like he was in the Christmas spirit, in truth celebrating was the farthest thing from his mind.

It had only taken a few days for the indescribable pain he'd been feeling to wear off, and then it was soon replaced by an all-consuming, gaping _nothingness_ , like there was a black hole where his heart used to be, sucking up everything in its path.

Doing a bit of research, he found that it was likely his mind trying to protect itself from the burning despair that been eating away at him before that. He knew it was unhealthy. The fact that he was having trouble sleeping and and his appetite was virtually non-existant didn't help.

He thought it was ridiculous, being this broken up over something ending before it even began, it didn't make any sense.

But, then again, didn't people say that about love in general?

Barry hadn't had any contact with Oliver since that night in the warehouse, he felt that maybe it was for the best, even though not being able to talk to him, or call him or text him, had hurt at first, he knew it needed to end. The vigilante didn't want him, and pining over something that was never going to happen was just asking for more pain.

The days seemed to drag on.

In the end, what snapped him out of his void was something he hadn't anticipated. The man in the yellow suit; his mother's killer.

He was back, and apparently had been for awhile, as Joe had revealed to him.

As disturbing as it was to think the guy might have been stalking him, Barry was just pissed off. He'd threatened Iris's life and stolen all the evidence from his mom's case, which meant he probably knew his secrets, was that why he had come back?

Or was he afraid that this new advantage would lead to his capture?

Either way, now that they had a lead, Barry had something to focus on, something to put all of his rage and pain and heart into, it had snapped him back to reality. He couldn't go on moping when that monster was still out there, he had to catch him, bring him to justice for what he'd done, and free his father.

Hopefully the trap the were setting up would work, but if not, he wouldn't ever give up.

Barry would get him... one day.

Even if it killed him.

* * *

That voice was one which would haunt his dreams for weeks to come.

 _"If you want to know that, you're going to have to catch me."_

Barry had tried, he really, honestly had.

The guy had been too fast, though, and too strong.

It hadn't taken him long to realize the man in the yellow suit had been messing with him, it was all just one sick game.

In the end, he'd been led to a stadium, in Starling City, the Rockets Arena.

 _"Not fast enough, Flash."_

He remembered chasing after him, weaving quickly through the numerous aisles of seats and up and down the staircases, but the man was always several steps ahead of him.

The punch to his jaw left a metallic taste of blood on his tongue.

Every attack Barry made was blocked with expertise.

A sharp, painful kick sent him flying, and he felt several ribs crack upon impact.

He got up, and tried to hit back again, but was slammed up against the wall. Barry hit his head against the concrete so hard that dark spots danced in front of his vision, leaving him struggling to stay conscious.

When he attempted to kick him, the Yellow Man's hard fist buried itself into his stomach, and he gasped sharply as the breath was knocked out of him, "W-What do you _want_ from me?" he wheezed, his heart was hammering even faster than usual, which was saying something.

It must have been the adrenaline.

"You, dead."

Another punch to the stomach.

He doubled over in pain.

"But first I want to have a little fun."

Then his foe's hand was on the back of his neck and his wrist, twisting his arm behind him roughly, a sharp pain wrenching through it as a result, before shoving him face down into the grass, none too gently, and he struggled but couldn't get up.

"You _son of a bitch..._ " Barry wheezed out, the grip on his throat made it difficult for him to breathe, "I _will_ catch you!"

Cold laughter sent a shiver up his spine, "Good luck."

A foot came down on his left leg, just below his knee, and he heard the sickening snap before he actually felt it, but when he did - a piercing scream of agony tore from his throat, the pain was so intense that it made tears sting his eyes, and he was pretty sure he blacked out for a few seconds.

God, it _hurt._

"Better luck next time." The man whispered by his ear; then, in a gust of wind, he was gone.

The speedster's _entire body_ throbbed, and when he realized his eyes had closed without him noticing, Barry had to force them open, his vision was swimming though, and his breathing was coming out in harsh, painful gasps, while he attempted to blink through the fog.

He couldn't pass out, not here.

No one would find him for a long time, and even if they did, his healing would be difficult to explain.

Barry had to get help.

Suddenly remembering he was still dressed as a civilian, he fumbled to reach his pocket with his uninjured hand, praying he had his cell phone on him...

 _Yes!_

"Come on... _please..._ "

It was dead.

Just like he would probably be if he didn't get help.

Forcing himself onto his knees, Barry gingerly lifted his head, groaning, because everything around him spun. He knelt on his bad leg, bracing his arm on the good one and pulling himself up, but as soon as the slightest pressure landed on his left leg, he had to choke back a cry.

He couldn't run back to S.T.A.R. Labs like this, he could barely stand upright, and he was sure it wouldn't be long until he passed out entirely.

 _Oliver._

The voice in his head reminded him that Verdant wasn't far, that even if he and his friend or ex-friend or whatever the hell they were weren't speaking, he knew Oliver could and would help him. Diggle... he had medical training, and Felicity had a way to contact Caitlin and Cisco and Dr. Wells.

Could he really walk with a broken leg, though?

 _You have to try._

Barry bit his lower lip as he stepped (more like hobbled) forward, so hard that he pierced the skin, though that was the last thing on his mind. It would heal, and he already had blood in his mouth anyways. He just needed a different pain to focus on, or he'd never make it.

Everything was throbbing.

 _Get to the club._

Another step, more agony.

 _They're your friends, they'll help you._

Hot tears were quickly falling down his face now, but he barely noticed it.

 _You can't let the man in yellow win._

Never, he would never let that happen.

* * *

Oliver had fucked up.

He knew that - he'd known it for a week now.

What he didn't know, however, was what it was about Barry that made it impossible for him to think straight. If kissing the kid out of nowhere like that hadn't been bad enough, he had to go and make everything a hundred times worse by saying the wrong thing.

Sure, he couldn't have known that the Metahuman would take his words that way, but _still..._

He should have gone to Central City to clear things up, he knew that _too_. As much as it killed him to admit, though, the vigilante was afraid.

If Barry flat out told him he never wanted to see him again, that would be relatively easy to handle. It would hurt, sure, but he could move passed it knowing his friend would still be happy.

No, the thing that terrified him was that he would forgive him. After Sara, he had promised himself he wouldn't let himself get close to another person, between her and Laurel and Felicity (not to mention Shado and Helena), his track record with relationships fucking _sucked_.

As much as he hated the thought of Barry being hurt by what he did and said, the thought of him getting targeted by one of the Arrow's enemies for revenge was a thousand times worse.

But he couldn't tell Barry that, because he just knew what the speedster would say.

The two of them _were_ equally stubborn after all.

* * *

On Felicity's insistence, he and Diggle both went out with her to get something to eat.

"You're still human, Oliver. Even heroes need food," she had said to him, just shortly after he'd sent Roy home for the night.

So the three of them decided to cool it with the Big Belly Burger for once, and instead grabbed some Taco Whiz takeout in order to change things up a bit.

It was getting late, and so long as the police didn't need backup for anything that evening they wouldn't be doing much except for going over evidence for a case they were working on, the blonde had made a good point in reminding them that they hadn't eaten lunch and more often than not ended up skipping breakfast.

When they arrived back at the club, however, they noticed that the basement door was opening slightly.

Almost immediately, Oliver pushed Felicity behind him, warning her to stay back.

"John?" he spoke, quietly.

Knowing exactly what he wanted, Diggle passed his boss the small switchblade he kept on him at all times, while drawing his own Glock 17.

The vigilante gave a slight nod, and slowly opened the door wider, stepping inside.

Despite the order to stay out, Felicity crept after them down the staircase, refusing to let her friends go in and face danger without her again (though, when she thought about it, it was probably a bad idea), what they found was pretty much on the opposite side of the universe from what they were expecting.

There was no ambush, or past enemy waiting for them.

Instead, they found a young man, leaning heavily against one of the lab tables with one of their emergency medical kits dumped out over it, looking like he'd just been dragged through hell and back. His clothing - a dark green sweater and grey jeans - was singed and covered in grass stains, dry blood was smeared around his mouth though he'd obviously attempted to wipe it away, and he had one arm cradled awkwardly against his chest.

His eyes were red-rimmed, indicating he had been crying at some point.

The Arrow was frozen where he stood.

 _...Barry._

"Oh God," Felicity was the first one to react, running over to her friend's side, "Barry, _what happened to you?!_ "

"He came back." The Metahuman said weakly, wincing as he straightened his back, still gripping the edge of the table tightly with his good hand, "Tried to catch him... he was too fast."

Diggle looked shocked at that - someone too quick for the Flash to catch, how was that even _possible?_

"Who did this to you, Barry? Who was too fast?"

He didn't answer her question, instead he shifted, and his hazy emerald eyes met Oliver's from across the room, "S.T.A.R. Labs... too far, couldn't run. Hurts. Knew that...that I-I'd be safe here..."

No one noticed the sudden change of his complexion to milky white until his eyes rolled back and he suddenly collapsed.

"Barry!" The blonde had managed to catch him, struggling to keep him up as John ran to help her, and they could see that one of his legs was sprawled out in an unnatural manner, obviously broken, "Oh, _God_ -" Felicity repeated, her voice was shaking, and when she lifted up one of her hands, which had been supporting the boy's head, it was streaked with crimson blood.

The sight of that was what _finally_ snapped Oliver out of his stunned stupor.

In an instant, he was by their side, lifting the unconscious and surprisingly light Barry out of their arms and laying him on one of the lab tables, heart pounding in his chest as he tried to fight down the panic he was feeling. "Felicity, call Dr. Snow and tell her to get over here _now_ , Dig, I need you to help me."

After that, everything was a blur.

* * *

"Is he okay?" Felicity asked the moment Caitlin sat down, looking thoroughly exhausted, but thankfully not as panicked as she had been when she first arrived. In fact, now she seemed a bit relieved. "I mean, obviously he's not _okay_ "okay", because he's, you know, unconscious and hurt, but what I mean is-"

The other woman interjected, knowing her babbling could go on and on, "He'll live, Felicity."

Hearing that, Oliver released a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding.

Of course, he knew that Barry could heal fast, that he'd be alright, but still...

It definitely wasn't what he'd thought when he saw Barry pass out right in front of him, in fact he'd been so busy having a miniature heart attack - not _literally_ \- that it had been up to the others to catch him. As worried as he was about the kid's condition, the only thing stronger than that at the moment was the raw fury coursing through his veins.

Who the _fuck_ had done this to him?

Seeing him like that, it took every bit of willpower he had not to try and go out and hunt down whatever was responsible, mostly because he didn't know, and also because he wanted to get the story from Barry instead of interrogating his friends.

"What did his attacker do to him?" He settled for asking instead.

Running a hand tiredly over her face, Caitlin sat up, "For lack of better terms, he beat the crap out of him. This is the most injuries I've ever seen him with all at once. Barry's completely fractured the tibia and fibula in his left leg, but thankfully they're clean breaks, which means they'll heal quicker."

"He ran all the way here on a broken leg?" Cisco asked, eyes widening at that, clearly as impressed as he was surprised. "That is _hardcore_." There was also thinly veiled concern behind his dark eyes as he looked at his friend's motionless, battered form.

"It's stupid, is what it is." The doctor snapped at him disapprovingly, shaking her head. "He also suffered from multiple bilateral rib fractures; two on the upper left, one on the lower left, three on the upper right. There was a left-sided pulmonary contusion which is already healing, a level 2 concussion - hence the reason he passed out - and very minor abdominal trauma, including a bruised liver and slight internal bleeding, which I managed to stop..."

Hearing all of it was difficult, he knew Barry must have been in a hell of a lot of pain going through all that and then heading back to the Foundry in his condition. The kid had always been determined, but walking on a fucking _broken leg?_ Christ. He'd come there looking for help, _his_ help, and since no one was there he'd actually tried patching himself up.

The vigilante tried not to feel too guilty for that, because he couldn't have _known_.

Cisco was frowning, "He should have called us before engaging in a fight with another Meta." He knew it had to be someone with powers, because what else could do something like _this_ to Barry Allen?

"There's more." He stated quietly, and Caitlin shot him an uneasy glance, possibly sensing his suppressed fury.

"Yes... He has a spiral fracture in his right arm."

Giving her an annoyed look, he asked, "What does that _mean_ , exactly?"

He'd suffered his fair amount of injuries over the years, and learned a bit of medical jargon, but it didn't mean he knew a ton about that stuff.

Caitlin sighed, her expression hesitant now. "It means... it means that somebody twisted it behind his back too hard, with enough force to snap the bone." She told him, carefully gauging his reaction, "Even with Barry's accelerated healing, it's going to take at least a day for all of his injuries to mend."

Now, Oliver felt like hitting something.

He wanted to put his fist through the glass cases, even if it meant splitting his hand open from the broken shards - the sight of blood would give him enough violent satisfaction to calm him down for a while, he wanted to shoot someone with an arrow, no, with _ten arrows_.

He wanted to _kill_ whoever did this.

Central City was supposed to be the place that was always sunny. Barry was meant to be fucking _safe_ there, this was the _precise_ reason he didn't want the kid in Starling in the first place!

It was the reason he tried to protect him by pushing him away, causing him to screw up the friendship they had.

Now it seemed like it was all for nothing.

Why did these horrible things keep happening to someone as bright and kind as Barry? The kid had a heart of gold, he didn't deserve any of the shit he'd gone through; his mother dying, being a foster kid, getting struck by lightning and put in a coma, and he sure as hell didn't deserve _this_.

"How long until he wakes up?"

She gave a slight shrug, "Probably not more than thirty minutes, maybe an hour. His concussion should already be gone by now, but the physical exhaustion might keep him asleep for awhile. He needs rest."

Oliver nodded as he crossed his arms, "Do you mind...?"

He wanted a minute alone with the kid, and even though this was technically his base, he could tell that they were protective of their friends, Caitlin in particular, but she simply smiled, stood, and headed out, Cisco tagging along behind her.

Before Felicity left, she placed her hand on his bicep for a brief moment, trying to comfort him. "He'll be alright, Oliver, you heard her." She said softly, giving his arm a light squeeze, before disappearing upstairs with the others.

Watching as they went, Oliver turned and pulled up a chair next to the table, sitting down next to Barry's head, silent for a moment.

He thought about taking the younger man's hand, but decided if he woke up and saw, it might be a bit weird.

"Barry..." the former CEO sighed, his eyes trained on the unconscious boy's face, "You just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you? If it's not lightning or a man made of steel or poison gas or some psycho bank robber with a freeze-ray, then it's this, isn't it?"

The Foundry was silent, Barry wasn't hooked up to an EKG - Felicity learned the hard, headache-inducing way that attaching one of those to him was a way to A) make everyone panic, and B) cause them to blare with outrage, Cisco had to tell them that the speedster's heartrate was increased to the point where the machine couldn't keep up, and that was why the doctors thought he kept flatlining while in a coma.

He couldn't help but feel like this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't screwed things up so badly with the scientist. If Barry had been able to call him ask for help catching this whatever-it-was, maybe he wouldn't have been this critically injured.

Oliver could imagine Felicity rolling her eyes and telling him not to find reasons to blame himself for everything, but he still felt responsible.

If he couldn't even protect the people that he loved by avoiding them, what was he supposed to do?

Wait...

 _Love?_

That thought struck him like, well, like _lightning_.

Did he love Barry?

Oliver wasn't sure.

After Sara was murdered, he was sure he'd forgotten what romantic love was supposed to feel like. This was a woman who had come back from the dead _twice_ , and then suddenly she was gone forever, and he couldn't process that it was for real this time, that her body was actually there in front of him as proof.

He'd been infatuated with many - Helena, Sandra, and so on. But there'd only been a handful of people in his entire life that he was ever sure he felt something stronger than attraction for: Laurel, Sara, Shado, and Felicity.

Even his feelings for Tommy hadn't reached the point of actual love in that sense. They'd been curious kids messing around when they were young, and by the time he got back they'd both changed, and anything he might have held for his best friend was now solely that; friendship, possibly even brotherhood, but nothing more.

Oliver had never loved a man before, he knew it could happen, but he hadn't expected it.

Denying his feelings took a lot of restraint, the devastated look Barry gave him before he disappeared from the warehouse had kept him awake at night, but he'd been so focused on telling himself that he rejected the kid for his own good, he never stopped to consider just why he felt so strongly.

Looking at him now, he did feel something stir, through the haze of anger and sadness at seeing his friend so battered and vulnerable.

 _Was this love?_

* * *

 **This chapter feels rushed when compared to the last one, but I really wanted to get the whole feelings-and-reflections thing written down before I lost my muse for it. There's less dialogue here than in the last one. Now, regarding the Ra's Al Ghul storyline - that'll still happen. I've followed both seasons same basic premises up until now with minor changes that weren't entirely AU, and I sort of had each episode in mind as I wrote. You know, Flash's season one started at the same time as Arrow's season three, so I sort of wrote the story as if the things that were happening in each show were going on at the same time.**

 **I'm going to deviate from that just slightly. It'll still happen, but later. I want a chance for Barry and Oliver to both explore their feelings and self-discovery a little more before Oliver, you know, supposedly dies and everyone is angsty and hurt, I think it'll be more dramatic that way. Plus I know everyone's super excited to see actual romance between the two and not just them skittering around the edges, afraid to tell each other. That's why I changed what happened between Barry and the Reverse-Flash a bit, it would give him a reason to go to Starling and see them (but mostly Oliver) again.**

 **Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think of the story so far, you know I love your feedback!**


	11. Safe & Sound

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Barry woke with a start.

The moment he realized he didn't know what was going on, he began to panic slightly. Where was he? Had he passed out, and if so, why? Did something happen? Why couldn't he remember? After trying to open his eyes he immediately had to shut them again to block out the painfully bright lights.

Was this a hospital?

He couldn't be in a hospital - they would find out something was wrong with him! This thought sent his heartbeat skyrocketing as terror began to seep through him. Barry was cold and his head was throbbing, neither things which were ever a good sign for him.

When he didn't remember where he was after a few seconds, the young man shot up into a sitting position before scrambling off of whatever hard, uncomfortable surface he had been laying on, letting out a sharp cry when pain shot up the length of his leg, nearly causing him to fall to his knees.

The speedster would have, had it not been for a strong pair of hands catching him by the shoulders to keep him upright.

"Barry?" a familiar voice asked, "Barry, it's me, calm down, Kid. Everything's alright."

Slowly blinking his eyes open, the Metahuman squinted, "Oliver...?" He asked, sounding confused, "What...? Why are you at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

A concerned expression appeared on the older male's face, "Barry," to his surprise, the archer's voice was unusually soft, "You're at the Foundry."

 _Huh?_

Looking around, the forensics specialist saw that it was true. But then, where were the others? Roy, and Diggle, and Felicity? He wanted to see them, they were fun to hang out with.

"What am I doing here?" he questioned, almost fearfully, "Is this training? ...You're not going to shoot me in the back again, are you?"

At that, the former CEO's eyes flashed with some emotion he couldn't quite identify, and it was frustrating because Oliver was such a closed book and it made reading him really difficult to do. "Look, just... sit here, and hold on a second, okay?" he quickly hurried upstairs.

Slightly baffled, but completely trusting of his friend, Barry patiently sat on the metal table and waited for him to return.

When he did, the forensicist was surprised but pleased to find all of the others - including Caitlin and Cisco - with him.

He was about to greet his friends when his doctor got in his face and began shining a light in both of his eyes, much to Barry's discomfort, even though he was pretty used to it at this point. "Uh, Cait? What are you doing?"

"I don't understand," she muttered, "His concussion's _gone_..."

"So what the hell's wrong with him, then?"

Cisco interjected, "Here's a whacky idea, why don't we just _ask_ him?" he turned to the other boy, "What's the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

He had to think about it for a moment.

"Um... talking to Iris, in the lab I think..." Barry wrinkled his nose in thought, his headache was getting worse.

"Alright, and then what?"

"Running." The brunette closed his eyes for a moment, "No... _chasing..._ "

Oliver's eyes narrowed, "Chasing who, exactly?"

A look of deep concentration appeared on Barry's face, he seemed to be having a difficult time, struggling to grasp the memory.

Then it came flooding back.

"It was him!" The young man blurted out, startling the others, "T-The man who killed my mom. He was outside, across from the police station. He was watching me. He made me follow him, I tried to... he threatened to kill Iris if Joe and I didn't stop working the case. I have to find him!"

Cisco muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "I _knew_ it."

As soon as Barry tried to stand up, his friends were immediately blocking his way. Caitlin he could understand, she was his doctor, but the fact that Oliver stopped him was surprising, "Guys, I have to go! They're in danger - this guy... he's been stalking me, and if he's back in Central then that means anyone there could be in trouble. I have to-"

" _Barry_ ," The tone of voice his hero/mentor used made him immediately snap his mouth shut, going silent, "That lunatic could have killed you, you're still healing, you can't just run back to Central City in your condition."

"I'll be fine!" He protested.

"Oliver's right," Felicity told him, concern evident on her face, "Barry, when we got back here you were all broken bones and blood and _passing out_ , you can't just take off and pick another battle with this whackjob when you're not totally healthy, that's a _bad_ idea."

"Cisco?" Barry looked to his friend for help, but he glanced away guiltily. "The plan..."

"Will still happen," Caitlin told him, gently putting a hand on his unbroken arm, "Just at a later date. We need you to get better first."

"But..." He tried desperately to come up with a reason to get back home, and everyone was watching him and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable, "I have work."

"Which Joe will cover you for with your boss, don't worry, man." The mechanics genius had a sympathetic expression, "I know you're worried, but really, what good are you going to be with a broken leg anyway? It won't take long to repair with your healing factor, just relax."

Giving up, Barry's shoulders slumped slightly, annoyed and upset. "Fine. But.. can you please give me some room? I'm starting to feel a little claustraphobic..."

The others backed off.

He sighed, because as much as he liked having friends that he could count on, he had a feeling they'd be keeping an eye on him while he was hurt, and being coddled really wasn't something he was used to, or enjoyed.

* * *

Oliver had been helping Thea close up Verdant, reluctantly promising her he'd be home that night when she started pestering him about it.

After heading back downstairs, he found Barry curled up in Felicity's computer chair, apparently having dozed off, and smiled a bit. The kid wouldn't admit it, but all the strain put on him from his injuries clearly had him wore out, he'd openly objected to the idea of remaining on an IV, but agreed to stay put until everything was fully healed.

That was when the vigilante realized something.

He'd agreed to be at the loft that night, but someone still at to watch the speedster to make sure he didn't do something stupid or reckless, and his friends had already headed to the hotel.

Whoops.

Making a split decision, he crossed the room and put a hand on Barry's shoulder, shaking him awake carefully.

"Whaaaaat?" The young man groaned, blinking his eyes open and shooting an annoyed look at Oliver, "I was sleeping..." His voice was groggy.

He chuckled, because it was kind of endearing.

"I know, and you can go back to sleep, but you need to come with me first."

Rubbing his eyes, Barry sat up, a little more awake now, "Fine. Where are we going?"

"Home." At the confused expression he recieved, Oliver elaborated, "Mine and my sister's place, you're staying with me for the night. Caitlin says you should probably be healed by tomorrow, which is good, but you can't just sleep down here."

Shocked, Barry asked, "You want me to go home with you?"

He nodded.

The speedster's face flushed slightly, "Wouldn't that be a little weird, after..."

"I kissed you and you ran away?" He asked playfully, really not wanting to bring up this subject now, not after everything he'd been thinking about while the kid was unconscious.

Barry glared, masking the hurt he felt, because honestly, was Oliver trying to make light of it? "You know what? I think I'll be just fine right here." He crossed his arms (albeit a bit awkwardly due to the cast covering one of them), staring icily at the wall as if it had personally offended him.

Shit.

 _That_ was the wrong thing to say.

"Hey, Kid, I was just kidding. Come on, lighten up."

Gritting his teeth, the speedster shook his head, "No, I'm not going anywhere with you. You're being obnoxious, Oliver. Can't you understand that I don't find having my feelings mocked to my face particularly amusing? Did it ever occur to you that this might be just a little bit _awkward_ for me?"

Of course it had, but he had thought telling a joke would ease the growing tension.

Sighing quietly, Oliver ran a hand over his face, then turned so he was in front of Barry, leaning against the computer station, "Look, Barry, I... I know that what happened between us was difficult for you, but it was for me too, okay?"

The younger boy fixed a piercing emerald glare on him, "Really? I thought you'd be used to breaking peoples' hearts by now."

Well, _ouch_.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough back at the warehouse, but-"

Barry cut him off, "You were plenty clear, trust me," his back was stiff, defensive, words cold and crisp. Yet he could still see the pain on his face. "I get it, really. The kiss was a mistake to you. I grew up with an overachieving older brother, I know exactly when someone's telling me I'm not good enough."

Oh, hell.

 _That_ was why he was so pissed off?

He still hadn't figured it out.

Oliver's look of utter disbelief must have been pretty obvious, because Barry's expression shifted slightly, and he gave him a long look, "What?"

"I really suck at this," The vigilante muttered, sounding exhausted. How late it was had little to do with it. "I should have expected you to misunderstand."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Not immediately responding, Oliver hooked his foot underneath the office chair the kid was sitting in, pulling it closer so the other man was just inches away from him, and Barry looked up, wide-eyed and clearly startled by the action, "Oliver?"

He caught the speedster's face in his hands, preventing him from moving away, so they had locked gazes, and though not getting lost in the younger man's hazel-green orbs was difficult, this needed to be said. "W-What are you-" His words were silenced when the former CEO pressed a thumb over his lips. "Shh, just _listen_ for a minute."

This was not going to be easy to say, because he was already in so deep, but he needed Barry to know the truth.

"Barry, look..." Oliver took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to phrase what he was trying to tell him, "That kiss... I do regret it," The sadness that flashed in the speedster's eyes made him pause, "But not for the reasons you think. When I said I wasn't good for you, I didn't mean that I didn't _want_ you. What I meant was that... _you're_ better off without _me_ , and that's why I couldn't let whatever was happening between us go on."

 _Shock._

Complete and utter shock was written across Barry's face, his mouth was even hanging open, and the fish-like expression might have been funny if the tension in the Foundry wasn't so thick at the moment that you could pierce through it with an arrow.

"...You can't mean that." He eventually whispered, hardly allowing himself to believe, to hope.

Oliver sighed again and released the younger man, "But I do. I wanted to tell you, but you took off. Barry, I can't explain it, but there's this...darkness that follows me. Everyone I've _ever_ been with has suffered, and I couldn't do that to you too. Sara, Laurel, Helena-"

"The Huntress."

He nodded, "Right, she's in jail."

"Because she's a murderer," The Metahuman protested instantly, "It was her choice to make."

"I should have been able to change her mind."

"That's such bullshit," Barry blurted, unsteadily getting to his feet and grabbing hold of the chair for support, and the older male seemed stunned by his reaction, staring at him.

Really? Had _no one_ ever bothered to call him out on his warped view of relationships before?

"Oliver, I don't know how you started thinking that you're responsible for the choices the person you're with makes, but you're _not_ , okay? It isn't anymore your fault that Helena Bertinelli is serving out a life sentence right now than it is that Sara Lance joined the League Of Assassins after you were separated."

The vigilante leaned back slightly, "There's more to it than that, Barry-"

He was promptly cut off by the speedster, though. "Really? Because I don't think there is. When you're with someone, you accept them, Oliver, all of them, for everything that they are. If you only want the sides of them that you like, well... that isn't real love, is it? Sure, you don't have to agree with everything they say and do, but you do have to accept them for the person that they are. You can't choose to keep the good without the bad, because it _doesn't work that way_."

Barry seemed to be on a role at this point, his face was flushed and his eyes were sharp and determined, he was talking a mile a minute and the archer was barely keeping up with his words. "I understand that you have your baggage, everybody does. Was I upset about what you did to that Markos guy? _Of course_. But it didn't change a thing. Does it bother me that you've killed people in the past? Sometimes, _yes_. But _it doesn't matter_ , because everything that happened on that island made you who you are today, the darkness that you say follows you is just as much a part of you as the light. Even when I had resigned myself to the fact that you would probably _never_ see me as anything more than a friend or that guy who was always late, it didn't matter, because you don't dictate your feelings, _they_ dictate _you_. You don't get to choose who you're going to fall in love with anymore than you could choose the weath-"

And that was when Oliver pressed their lips together a second time.

Granted, its intention was to just shut Barry up for once, but at the same time it was because he really, _really_ wanted to.

He almost couldn't believe the kid actually felt that way about him, but he knew it was true. When Barry got nervous or upset he babbled, and his babbling was always complete honesty. The fact that Barry truly believed that he had to have a good side too, that he refused to just dismiss him because of the things he'd done, it stirred up something in him that he hadn't felt since Canary's murder.

 _...Love._

But, to his credit, Oliver _did_ also succeed in silencing him.

The young man seemed genuinely startled by the action, but it didn't take him as long as it did the first time to process what was happening before he melted into it. When Barry awkwardly tilted his head up into the kiss, before Oliver's arm caught him around the waist and pulled him closer, keeping a tight but gentle grip on him so he wouldn't lose his balance.

Lips moving slowly together, bodies pressed against one another as the kiss deepened, Oliver could feel the younger male's wildly beating heart hammering in his chest, to the point that he could understand why the EKG machine he'd been plugged into earlier had been so outraged at Felicity.

Everything about Barry was... _extraordinary_.

Almost reluctantly, he broke it off so he could breathe, still holding the boy in his arms, and as he looked down at him, he saw those green gem-like eyes peering back up at him, darker than usual, the slight fear in them sent a pang through his chest, because he knew the kid was scared of being rejected again.

Instead, a smile touched Oliver's lips, and he relished the way the speedster's whole face seemed to light up at the rare sight.

"We should probably get going..." The archer murmured softly, and the scientist let out a near inaudible sigh of relief, he nodded.

They would have to talk about it again eventually, he knew they would, but for now he wanted to enjoy the moment, the way his heart felt like it was going to spring right out of his chest, and how his cheeks were hurting from smiling so much and the kiss left him feeling breathless and giddy.

If his words had gotten through to Oliver, then this would be one of the happiest days of his life.

* * *

The drive was long and quiet, but not in a bad way.

As he drove them, Oliver glanced over at Barry from time to time, and see the speedster with his eyes closed and his entire body relaxed, but he got the feeling that the kid wasn't actually asleep, rather that he was simply thinking very deeply about something.

He didn't snap him out of it, because truth be told he had a lot of thinking to do as well.

Obviously this whole "ignoring Barry for his own good" thing wasn't really working out, in the end it just seemed to be hurting both of them, but at the same time - the vigilante wasn't sure that he even knew _how_ to be in a relationship anymore.

Plus, even with the distance between their homes and how dangerous their jobs were not being a problem in some scenarios, how could they possibly balance out trying to date (as ridiculous as that sounded) in between protecting their cities?

 _What if you stop thinking about it so much_ , a little voice nagged in the back of his head, _and just go with the flow for once_.

Shaking his head, Oliver focused back on the road, because now wasn't the time to be putting so much thought into something like this. Maybe he just needed to take it one step at a time, and let whatever happened, happen. He didn't know if that would actually work.

All he knew was that he couldn't keep pushing Barry away, not when it was obvious how much his behavior had upset the younger man.

* * *

"Wow," Barry breathed as he looked around the giant, gorgeous loft, "It's amazing."

Shrugging as he hung up his jacket, the older male told him simply, "She has good taste."

"Aw, talking about me again, Ollie?"

The young man turned around in time to see a teenage girl with short dark brunette hair and striking green-grey eyes step into the room, and he would have instantly known that it was Thea Queen, even if he hadn't seen her previously on television before. She and Oliver were so obviously related, you could see it in their faces.

"It's late," she said, directing it towards her brother, "Where were you?"

"I was out with friends." The archer replied, the lie rolling effortlessly off of his tongue, and it technically wasn't a lie anyways, considering his team members were his friends, as well as partners.

Thea cocked her head slightly, "You have friends?" she asked with a twitch to her lips that gave away the playful teasing.

"Haha, funny." Oliver rolled his eyes, before noticing the way his sister seemed to finally notice Barry's presence, "Thea, this is Barry Allen," he introduced them, "My friend from Central City. He was here for work, but his hotel reservation fell through at the last minute so I told him he could stay the night, hope that's not a problem."

"Course not," she said, warmly, "Nice to meet you, I'm Thea, Oliver's sister." She held her hand out to Barry, and he started to reach forward to shake her hand, but paused, letting his casted right arm and dominant hand fall to his side, before shaking her hand with his left instead.

Frowning slightly as she took in his broken arm and leg, Thea questioned him, "What happened?"

Oliver was about to answer her, but Barry beat him to it, "I got hit by a bus," he said, his face totally straight.

The older male, on the other hand, had to fight a grin, remembering how Lance, back at the station, had mixed up the details of the kid's situation.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry about it," Barry brushed off her sympathy for his fake accident, "I just have naturally bad luck. Last year I got struck by lightning. It's nice to meet you too, by the way. You have a beautiful home."

"Um, thanks." Thea blinked at him several times, before shaking her head slightly, "Well, morning comes pretty quickly, and I've got to head into Verdant early tomorrow and take care of a few things, so I'm off to bed." She stretched up on her toes to give her brother a kiss on the cheek before heading on her way.

"Sleep sounds like a good idea," The forensic analyst agreed once she had left, covering his mouth abruptly to stifle a yawn.

Oliver smiled slightly, "Yeah, I don't blame you for being tired. My room's just around the corner, alright? There's some extra clothes in the closet if you feel like changing, even though it might be a little bit big. I'll see you in the morning..." He started to head towards the kitchen, but the hand that caught him by the sleeve of his shirt stopped him.

"W-Wait, where are you going to sleep?" Barry asked, and the sound of his voice made him turn around, the kid was _blushing_.

Cute.

"I was going to crash on the couch."

Now Barry looked disappointed, much to Oliver's amusement. Did he think they were going to share a bed? As tempting as that idea was, it was probably too soon for that, not to mention if Thea found out it would definitely lead to a ton of questions that he really didn't have answers for at the moment.

What Oliver mistook for disappointment happened to be horror, however, because the younger man was staring at him, clearly taken by surprise, "On the couch? I can't do that! I'm not going to take your room, Oliver. I'll sleep on the couch, it's no big deal."

Instantly feeling his ire rise slightly, the former CEO turned to face him fully, "Barry, you broke multiple bones today, which are still healing by the way, I'm not making you sleep on the couch. The point of you coming here was so you'd be more comfortable than at the Foundry," he pointed out.

Honestly, the couch wasn't so bad for him, considering he'd gotten pretty used to sleeping in caves and on forest floors during his time on Lian Yu.

"But-"

" _Please_ , don't be as stubborn as me, for once?" Oliver sighed, his gaze piercing that of the green-eyed-boy's, "Just go and get some sleep."

Whoa...

Looking slightly dazed, Barry nodded slowly, "Um, okay..." He couldn't think straight when Oliver did that thing with his intense blue-grey eyes, the thing where he gave him that look which made his heart flutter even faster in his chest and caused him to get breathless for a moment.

The smile he recieved in return didn't help either, and Oliver turned and disappeared into the kitchen, possibly to get a snack or something, and Barry was tempted to follow him because he had never actually _seen_ the man eat anything before and occasionally wondered if he was even human, but decided to just do as he was told and go to bed.

 _Oliver Queen's bed._

Yeah, he was totally smitten.

* * *

Were it not for his acute senses, Oliver never would have heard it.

A quiet, muffled noise, coming from down the hallway.

He'd just been about to go to sleep himself, considering it was nearly two in the morning, but the sound had made him falter, and after a moment of silent contemplating, he decided to go investigate it, wondering if Barry was awake and looking for the washroom or kitchen or something.

However, as he neared the bedroom door it became obvious that the kid wasn't lost, he gave a quiet knock but recieved no response, causing him to slowly push the door open, allowing light from the hall to spill inside, and poked his head in to see what was going on.

What greeted him was not something he expected.

Barry was laying sprawled out across Oliver's bed, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt which he'd been wearing earlier, both emblazoned with the S.T.A.R. Labs logo (the others had brought them), and appeared to be in the grips of a nightmare. By the sounds of it, it was a bad one. The kid was twisting and turning restlessly, muttering quietly under his breath, and his uninjured hand kept grabbing and then loosening its grip on the pillow he had tucked under his arm, much like a security blanket.

"...Mom?" The young man whimpered in his sleep, "Where are you, Mom? It's too dark... I'm scared..."

Oliver stiffened, his hand tightening on the doorknob, feeling his heart break in a way he hadn't thought was still possible for him as he heard the sleeping speedster call out for a woman who had been dead for well over a decade.

While he himself had suffered from nightmares frequently at times, they tended not to repeat themselves. He'd had dreams about many people - Sara, Laurel, Slade, his mother and his father, Shado... some had been more horrific than others, but he got the feeling that this dream of Barry's was one he had experienced many times before.

The Metahuman flung his arm out then - the bad one - causing it to smack against the beside table and the vigilante cringed, waiting to hear the resulting cry of pain and abrupt awakening, but it didn't come. In fact, Barry didn't even seem aware of it.

"No, don't..." he mumbled, becoming more agitated. "Don't, please... stop. Dad, Mom... help. Stop it. No, don't hurt him. Leave Bas alone, I won't..." Barry suddenly arched slightly, and began thrashing, his face twisted in fright. "No, no, no. Stop! _Stop it_ , go away! Don't hurt them!" His voice rang out with pain - pain and terror.

In that moment, Oliver chose to intervene, before the kid could suffer anymore from phantom images, or possibly even hurt himself trying to escape them.

He dashed across the room, leaning over the bed, and firmly took ahold of the kid by his upper arms, careful not to grab the right one too tightly, and shook him softly, "Barry, wake up. It's just a nightmare, Barry, it's not real. Come on, open your eyes, Kid!"

It worked, his eyes snapped open and he jolted up, gasping for air, his entire body shaking, "Wh-What?"

The older male allowed himself to relax slightly, "It's me, Barry. You were having a bad dream."

Barry stared up at Oliver for a moment, and to his surprise, suddenly pulled himself away from his friend, arms curling around himself as he took in deep, trembling breaths, blinking hard in the darkness as though he were trying to hold back tears. "T-Thanks for waking me up." He whispered.

"No problem..." The vigilante watched him warily, "Do you want to talk about it, or...?"

As the kid shook his head, Oliver figured it was probably something too personal, and nodded, turning to leave again.

But for the second time that night, Barry reached out and grabbed him before he could.

"Wait, I..." He swallowed hard and looked down for a moment, "Would you maybe... stay? I mean, just until I fall asleep?" he seemed embarrassed, an d reluctant to ask. "So I don't have another one?"

It was a surprising request, but not unreasonable, it was actually a little touching to know that Barry trusted him enough to let him be around while he was feeling this vulnerable.

"Sure."

Looking relieved, Barry slid over to one side of the bed so Oliver could get in beside him, and the two just laid there for a moment in silence.

"Do you have nightmares like that often?" Oliver asked him, softly.

Glancing over at him, despite not being able to see very well in the dark, the younger brunette nodded, "All the time. They started after my mom died, the therapy helped a little. But when I was twelve..." he hesitated, "I started taking Ambien for awhile to help with the insomnia and stuff, but Joe found me about to sleepwalk into the street one night and made me stop taking it right away."

The mere implications of that statement was enough to send a chill through Oliver.

"I started taking it again when I was in college, and did right up until the accident, but after I woke up medicine didn't really affect me anymore, and the problems came back." He sighed.

Considering that for a moment, Oliver decided that having superpowers meant that everyone changed by the particle accelerator must have gotten disadvantages from it too, which sucked for Barry, but on the other hand meant none of them were without weaknesses. "Does talking about it ever help?"

"Sometimes." Barry's voice was muffled as his head was partially buried in one of the pillows, which he seemed to like for whatever reason. "It doesn't work all the time though..."

"What does, then?" He prompted, because it seemed like speaking was making Barry sleepier and sleepier, which seemed to help.

"Cuddling."

"Wait, what?" He looked blankly at the kid, trying to tell if he was messing with him, but even with his good sight he couldn't seem to figure that out.

Feeling a blush appear on his face, and thankful for the darkness of the room, Barry replied, "Cuddling helps. It was my brother's idea, when I was younger he did some tests and it seemed to work. But after he moved away to live with our aunt and uncle, well... I wasn't going to ask Joe or Iris, so I just learned to distract myself."

That piqued the older male's interest, "How would you distract yourself?"

Figuring he wasn't actually going to get to sleep anytime soon, Barry propped himself up on his good elbow, "Well, I would recite my favorite songs and poems in my head, or solve factoral equations, go through recent papers I'd read on Physics - mostly String Theory and Dark Matter related..."

"Are you a genius or something?" Oliver questioned him, because it had been something that was on his mind since he met the kid, but it had never occurred to him to ask Barry, considering the only time they'd ever been around each other in a completely casual setting was at Jitters, and by that point he'd had a lot on his mind.

"Me?" The speedster seemed taken by surprise, before he shrugged slightly. "Um, well, not really. I-I don't know? I've never had my IQ formally tested, if that's what you mean. My brother and I... We're sorta considered prodigies, I guess. We both have an eidetic memory, and were ahead of all our classes by a few years. That's actually one of the reasons why he moved. He didn't feel challenged at our school, and found this European gifted program and begged Joe to let him go live with our relatives."

"Why didn't you go with him?"

Tensing slightly, the young man diverted his gaze to the ceiling, "Well, I mean, I was only fourteen at the time. I could have done what he did and skipped ahead, started post-secondary early... but I didn't _want_ to. To be honest, I couldn't see myself leaving Central City behind for so long, college was hard enough. It would have felt like I was running away..." he had a slightly bitter edge to his tone.

Oliver could guess why, "You two don't get along well."

"No-I mean, that's not _really_ Sebastian's fault. We just... had trouble connecting after that, that's all. We sort of had disagreements about our parents, and - well, _everything_. But mostly, he wanted to forget our past. I couldn't do that." Barry sighed, putting his head back down on the pillow, "I couldn't just change my last name and my address, and go pretend a couple of almost strangers were my parents. It would be living a lie. I mean, I understand _why_ he did it, we didn't exactly have the best childhood, but really, who had a good one? Maybe he was right, I couldn't let go of the things I saw, but..." he bit his lip, "I mean, now that I know I'm right, I'm glad I didn't."

"Our pasts shape who we are, Barry. You practically told me that earlier." The vigilante murmured, before asking, "Are you getting tired yet?"

"...Not really."

The elder of the two was silent for a moment, "Would it help if..." he hesitated briefly, "If I held you?"

Granted, he wasn't exactly known for being the warm, fuzzy and comforting type, but since it was Barry, perhaps he could change that, just for him, just this once...

" _What?_ "

Catching the way Barry's eyes widened at that and his cheeks practically glowed red in the darkness, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him, "It's okay. I mean, you don't _have_ to. But I'm not going to bite. And now that we've cleared up, well, _mostly_ everything about before, it wouldn't be that weird, would it?"

"I-I guess not..." The Meta agreed, a little nervously.

After going quiet for a few seconds, Oliver could hear quiet shuffling, and felt movement on the bed, before the younger man's body was pressing up against his own. He was surprised by how warm Barry was, though he really shouldn't have been, given he did have high-energy cells.

What was unexpected was how easily the speedster managed to fit into his arms, and it wasn't even five minutes after Barry had curled himself against the older hero that he was deeply asleep. Oliver could feel the kid's heartbeat through their clothes, fluttering quick and sporadically like a hummingbird, sending soft, pleasant vibrations through their bodies that had him uncharacteristically sleepy as well.

The former CEO found himself holding the boy tighter than he intended, enjoying the warmth he provided which was far better than that extremely expensive space heater Thea had purchased, and the way that having Barry in his arms, knowing he was safely at his side, seemed to put his mind at ease, even for a little while.

Not longer after that, he too was drifting off...

* * *

 **Well, it took me a while to write this chapter because I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted it to go, but here it is! I hope you guys are as happy as I am that these two are finally not acting as stubborn and clueless as we know they tend to be most of the time.**

 **Make sure you leave a review for me so that I know what you think so far!**


	12. To Die Without Regret

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Oliver was by no means a heavy sleeper.

Several years of having to constantly be alert and ready to defend yourself from death would do that to you, but not only that, he was also a borderline insomniac. He usually put off going to bed for as long as he could, because he knew all that awaited him would be lost figures of the past standing in the shadowy recesses of his mind, watching him, _waiting_.

It was rare for him to get a good night's sleep.

And yet, upon waking that morning, he found himself feeling unusually well rested and refreshed - it took him several long moments to realize why exactly that was. Perhaps his grogginess could partially be blamed, but he hadn't thought much about how comfortable he was until he actually opened his eyes and looked down.

Laying there, half curled up against his body, head on his chest (right over his heart, in fact), was Barry, still fast asleep. His good arm was wrapped loosely around the vigilante's torso, his smaller frame moving ever so slightly with each soft breath that he took.

He looked so peaceful...

The lines in his face - brought on by stress, pain, and an all too-active mind - were gone, making him appear even younger than he already looked, as impossible as that seemed.

Was it the presence of the younger hero by his side, he wondered idly, that allowed him to sleep uninterrupted for once?

It would be an interesting twist, what with Oliver having stayed last night in order to help Barry get some sleep, only to have it work the other way around too. Without really thinking too much about his actions, the older man lifted the hand that wasn't trapped between his own body and Barry's, and began carding his fingers through the sleeping boy's hair, his emotions running wild.

He found himself tracing every contour of Barry's face, gently, and despite the oddity of it, he was unable to stop. His thumb brushed over the speedster's cheek, tracing under his eyes, and over his lips.

" _Oliver..._ " He froze, thinking he'd been caught, but the kid simply shifted as if to get more comfortable, snuggling his warm body up to the older man's even more, a dopey smile on his lips that showed he was, indeed, still very much asleep.

While dreaming about Oliver.

A sudden unexpected and ovewhelming flood of affection rushed through the former CEO, as he stared down at his slumbering friend, beginning to realize - and not for the first time mind you - just how much he'd screwed himself over by allowing things to progress this far.

He almost wanted to say that what happened yesterday, their second kiss, had been a mistake.

But that would be just one of many lies that he told, and he knew Barry wouldn't be as inclined to believe him this time around, not after all of their revelations which had come into light, so he settled for being simply wary, of where this... _thing_ between them would end up.

* * *

About an hour later, the younger man began to stirr, and Oliver was pulled from his thoughts, glancing down.

Barry shifted and his eyes fluttered open, a sigh passing his lips, and for a moment everything was utterly silent, as he soaked in the soft rays of the rising sun. He felt comfortable - cozy, even.

That's when he heard someone speak up, "Good morning."

He shot up faster than a speeding photon, nearly tripping as he catapulted himself off of the bed.

If he hadn't looked like a cornered animal, the archer probably would have laughed at his exaggerated reaction.

Oliver sat up, "Barry?" Green eyes flickered in his direction, wide and frightened, but also confused. "Kid, you okay?"

The police forensicist seemed to calm down, once he realized who it was that had spoken to him, and his face flushed lightly, "Um, y-yeah. I just... you took me by surprise..."

"I didn't mean to freak you out."

"It's not your fault," Barry tried to reassure him, attempting to explain, "I-I live alone, and I've never woken up with anyone beside me, so it's a little weird, that's all."

"Never?" he found that a little hard to believe. "What about college?"

Even if the kid didn't date much when he was younger, shouldn't he have at least had a roommate in college?

Shrugging, the hero headed back over to sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed, apparently over his discomfort. "Aside from my brother? Nope. I lived off campus. And I didn't really go out much, I mean, there was Becky and-" he cut himself off abruptly, running his tongue over his lower lip, oblivious to the older man following the action with his eyes, "But... they never really slept _over_ or anything, so..."

"Where did you go after you graduated from high school?" Oliver asked, curiously.

He found himself wanting to know more about the younger man, because as much as they had spoke in the last couple of months, it hadn't really been anything deeply personally. Just exchanging advice, sharing thoughts on whatever they happened to be working on at the time, etc...

A slight smirk appeared on Barry's face, "You don't know? I thought after having Dig search into my past..." he trailed off, full out grinning at the look of dismay that Oliver gave him.

"All I had him do was call CCPD and Google your name, it's not like I had him gather a file on you or anything."

He chuckled, smiling, "In that case - I went to Florida, and attended Sun City University on a scholarship. Double-majored in Forensic Science and Organic Chemistry/Physics, with a minor in Criminology."

"Why Florida?" he questioned him.

"You already asked your question!" Barry said, with an almost pouty expression on his face. "That's not how the game works, I should get to ask _you_ something."

Fair enough.

Oliver chuckled, as he stood up, because he had a feeling the kid would play it like this. "Okay, go ahead. I'm going to go make breakfast, feel free to ask away though."

He seemed surprised by that, not having expected the older male to agree, and headed out of the bedroom to follow him.

"Um, favorite gemstone?"

Giving him a look that said _'seriously?'_ as they headed to the kitchen, the archer really didn't have to think too hard about it, answering almost immediately, "Emerald."

"Because it's green?" Barry inquired, still tailing him, "Or because it's your birthstone?"

Oliver hadn't actually _known_ what his birthstone was, though he didn't say that.

He considered that for a moment, and found himself looking into the speedster's bright, intelligent green eyes, causing him to lose his train of thought momentarily. "Er...all of the above," he finally answered, in a distracted manner. "What about you?"

"Well, my birthday is in March, and has a bunch of different birthstones depending on the source and region as well as actual date. It's sort of disputed, but generally agreed on being Aquamarine, Amethyst, Jade, Jasper, Bloodstone-"

The elder of the two cut him off, "I meant, what stone is your favorite?"

"Oh... Um, in that case, Turquoise."

Interesting choice, if anything he would of guessed ruby or topaz, or something else red or yellow, since those were Barry's favorite colors, as far as he knew.

"Any particular reason why?"

Barry looked at him, and then immediately averted his gaze, "It's just nice, and, uh..." he mumbled something under his breath that the other man didn't quite catch.

"Hold on, what was that?" Oliver asked, wondering why the forensics investigator suddenly looked so red-faced.

"Mostly, the um... hue of the stone. It..." He ran a hand through his hair, and quickly said, "It reminds me of you."

 _Wow._

He certainly hadn't expected that.

"Me?" The confusion and shock in his tone must have been evident, because Barry glanced up, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, to the point that the vigilante wondered how it wasn't hurting him.

"Your eyes, specifically," he told him, softly, "They're blue, obviously. But not like _Sapphire blue_. They sometimes look blueish-green, which Turquoise is sort of known for, and sometimes they have these little flecks of grey..." Barry trailed off, sighing, "It's weird, isn't it?"

Not weird, at least, not to him.

"You like my eyes?" His voice was incredulous now.

The boy flushed, feeling like an idiot, "Well, yeah, I mean, they're very... _pretty_."

Oliver really didn't know what to say about that, "Thanks?"

He didn't tell him out loud, but the fact that Barry had paid that close attention to his eye color was rather flattering, he felt pleased by the knowledge.

Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Always," Barry answered instantly, clearly having no problems of moving on to a different topic, "Side effect of super speed, my accelerated metabolism causes me to develop acute hypoglycemia and pass out sometimes if I'm not careful." Seeing the concerned look on his mentor's face, he quickly added, "Only if I forget to eat though, which isn't often, so it's cool. Cisco and Caitlin actually made up these high-calorie protein bars for me, which usually does the trick."

"Alright, I'll make breakfast, are you allergic to anything?"

"Cats," The speedster told him, matter-of-factly, "Oh, and no brussel sprouts."

Oliver tilted his head to the side, "You're allergic to them?"

"No. I just won't eat them." He said firmly, and the conviction behind it made the older male laugh, because _wow_ , as mature as he was it seemed like Barry still had some childish traits left. It was kind of endearing. "Do you need any help?"

"I think I've got it covered." Seeing the frown on Barry's face, and figuring the kid just wanted something to do, he told him, "Maybe you should head over to Starling Plaza, it's the hotel where the others were staying at. While you were asleep, Caitlin told me if you were feeling up to it to swing by so she could take off your casts and make sure everything was alright." He paused, "How are you feeling, anyway?"

"A lot better," The brunette answered honestly, "At least, I no longer feel like my entire body is one giant, pulsating bruise. I guess I'll do that, and tell them thanks while I'm at it..." he trailed off, and then sighed, "I'm sorry, for the record."

"Hmm? What for?"

Barry crossed his arms, a little awkwardly, "I know I had you all so worried about me, and I hate doing that. I know I should have called them, or Joe or you - somebody, but as soon as I saw the guy... I couldn't think straight, all I knew was I wanted to get him before he hurt or threatened someone else I cared about."

"You don't need to apologize, Barry." Oliver said once the boy was finished talking, "I know what it's like to want revenge, to be so angry that it clouds your judgement. It took awhile for it to really sink in, but when there's people in your life who want to help - I say take it, because they wouldn't have offered if they didn't care."

A warm smile flickered across the younger man's face, "You're right. Thanks."

"No problem, now go see your team, I'll be right here when you get back." He commanded, his tone light.

The speedster was gone in a flash.

* * *

It didn't take Barry long to locate the hotel.

However, only once he arrived there did he realize that he had no clue what rooms Cisco or Caitlin were in, whee they were sharing a room, or even what floor they were on, Starling City Plaza was HUGE. Sure, he could have always just gone to the front desk and asked, but given how he was dressed, he had a feeling they might not tell him.

So instead he settled for simply swiping an extra set of keys from the manager's office and using his speed to check every single room until he found them.

Thankfully, he didn't accidentally walk - or rather, _run_ \- in on anything he shouldn't have while doing so, which was statistically most likely to happen especially when combined with his horrible luck in general, but maybe the universe decided to give him a break this time around.

He found Caitlin on the fourth floor, they were staying in a double suite.

When Barry made his abrupt appearance, she didn't even bat an eye, having so gotten used to it at this point that it no longer startled her, she was sitting at the edge of her bed thumbing through some bad romance novel, probably left behind by a former guest.

"Hey," he greeted, "Oliver told me that I should stop by and-OW!"

The young man was now glaring at her with confusion and annoyance, rubbing his now aching shoulder. Caitlin was a LOT stronger than she looked. "What was that for?!"

"Because you're an idiot," The doctor replied icily, but her expression softened a few moments later and she stepped forward, ignoring his flinch, and wrapped her arms around him, "Don't do that again. I was worried sick. You're lucky I only punched you, because I have a feeling that Dr. Wells and Joe are going to do way worse when you get back."

Barry smiled slightly, and patted her on the arm, "Sorry, I guess I got caught up in the moment. Thanks for the heads up though." He glanced around the room, and his eyebrows knitted together.

Where was Cisco then?

"He's at the arcade." She told him offhandedly, guessing his train of thought as she took a step back, "Knew we'd be heading back in the morning and wanted to check it out before we left."

"They have an arcade here?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, "Sit down and let me examine you, considering you ran all the way here with no problems everything should be all healed up, but I still want to check and be sure."

He knew she cared.

* * *

It seemed to come out of nowhere.

He was sitting on the bed, listening absently as Caitlin went over the details of the plan to catch the man in the yellow suit, with her pausing to mention how stupid Cisco said it was to call him that and that he needed a better villain name, when she suddenly fell silent, "You're doing it again."

"...Doing what?" Barry blinked at her in confusion.

"Spacing out, you've been doing that a lot lately. I know why, too."

Okay, he had no clue what she was talking about, "Oh? Please, enlighten me."

Caitlin narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly, apparently thinking he was messing around or lying, but he wasn't. Honestly! "It's been going on for weeks. You're going through extreme highs and lows - either you walk around with the biggest smile on your face, or you look like someone just told you your dog died."

"I don't... actually _have_ a dog, but go on." He crossed his arms, a little worried now, because _where exactly_ was she going with this?

"Either you're suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, which I doubt, or it's the second theory, which I've been operating under for awhile," Seeing the skeptical look on his face, she pointed right at him, "You're in love-"

Oh, great. She was about to bring up Iris again, wasn't she? This sucked, like on a scale of one to suck, it SUCKED. He really hated lying to his friends, tricking Joe had been hard enough, but now his team? What was he supposed to do when she said-"

"With Oliver."

 _Fuck._

The open-mouthed look of absolute shock on his face must have been even more obvious than it felt, if her expression was anything to go by, because she gave an exaggerated groan, "Don't even try denying it, Barry, It's so _obvious_ , anyone with a double digit IQ could see it. I figured it out weeks ago."

"O-Oh?" Barry asked weakly, feeling his surprise change into something closer to the "mortified family", "Well then, I...um... think I'll just go find a hole and bury myself in it." He started to get up.

Not fast enough, for once, because she caught him by the wrist and yanked him back down.

"Calm down. Look, it's okay. I haven't told anyone..." he sighed in relief, running his hand over his face, "...Except maybe Oliver."

His head shot up, and he stared at her in abject horror.

"Don't worry! Like I said, you'd need at least half a brain to notice, hence the reason why he didn't believe me."

"CAITLIN!"

The woman chuckled quietly.

Was she making fun of him?!

"I'm going to die." Barry groaned, covering his face with one of those lumpy decorative pillows that really served no purpose other than to annoy people, "It won't matter if we can't catch the yellow man, because I'm going to die of embarassment before he can get to me."

"You're being overly dramatic, I'm pretty sure he feels the same way." Caitlin told him.

Well, yeah, Barry _knew_ that after yesterday, but it didn't change how utterly humiliating it was for him to learn all of this.

"How long have you known?"

"Hmm? You mean that you're-"

"Yes, that." He cut her off, not wanting to actually hear her say the word out loud.

"Months," Barry peeled the pillow off of his face to look at her in confusion. They certainly hadn't been close when he first started training and stuff at S.T.A.R. Labs. "The whole thing with Iris, acting like you were pretending not to be head over heels for her, you were trying too hard, Barry, and I understand why, I mean not _really_ \- obviously I've never been in your shoes, but I can at least imagine why. But, you know what?"

He didn't answer, just waiting for her to continue.

It did surprise the speedster, however, when she leaned across the bed to look down at him, hair curtaining her face as a result, and gave him a warmer smile than he was used to, hand on his shoulder, it was so... un-Caitlin like to be this way.

"It doesn't matter, not to me." She said, matter-of-factly, and he merely blinked up at his physician. "It doesn't change the fact that you're _Barry_ , and it won't matter to the others when they find out-" at his panicked look, she quickly added, in a placating tone, "-when _you're_ ready to tell them. We're a...a family. You'll still be the Flash, a _hero_ , and you're still my friend. So don't look so scared, alright? I'm a woman of science, I'm not religious, and even if I were - I can't imagine that the deeply personal feelings of an individual, which they have no control over anyway, would dictate my opinion on them."

A breath that he didn't realize he was holding left him, "Caitlin...thank you." He said softly, unsure how to really express the depth of his gratitude. Despite the fact that he never actually told her anything, or even admitted to it, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest.

He'd been lying and hiding for so long, he doubted even Oliver knew the true extent of the younger man's feelings for him.

"Anytime," she told him, brightly, "Besides, the whole concealing who you are thing? It might work for superheroes, but it sucks for romances. If there's one thing I learned from Ronnie..." her eyes got faraway for a moment, "It's that life is precious, and _too damn short_. Why waste what time we have left beating around the bush? I say if you want something, go for it, because you never known when you might lose the chance."

It was actually pretty good advice.

The two friends were looking at each other, smiling, she was still leaning over him - almost dangerously close - with her hair tickling his face, hand on his shoulder, while he was on his back, and they were on the bed, _together_.

And that was what Cisco walked in on.

"Hey Caitlin, you've got to check it out! They have-" The mechanical engineer stopped about a step and a half into the room, his hand on the doorknob, and he was gaping at them, "I...uh..." Words seemed to evade him for a good thirty seconds, while the three simply stared at one another, frozen, "S-Should I come back later, or-"

"Cisco!"

The bioenginner practically yelped his name as she simultaneously leapt away from Barry and the bed itself as though they were on fire, which honestly just made everything look even more suspicious, "It's not what you think... W-We can explain."

Slowly narrowing his eyes at his two friends, the young Mexican man crossed his arms over his chest, "...I'm listening."

Helplessly, Caitlin looked to Barry.

A stricken expression crossed his face, and he opened and closed his mouth several times, before standing up, "Um, right, you see, the thing about that is... Gotta go!"

With a whooshing sound, he was gone.

 _My hero,_ Doctor Snow thought to herself sarcastically.

* * *

As he was zooming through Starling City, back towards the Queen siblings' loft, Barry couldn't get Caitlin's words out of his head, and while he knew he would probably (more like _certainly_ ) pay for leaving her to face Cisco's persistance and inquiries solo, he needed to get out of there and clear his head.

Running helped him think, and the thought of where he was running to sent his heartbeat racing even faster than it usually was.

She was right, he knew she was, knew that the others wouldn't judge him if he told them, and even if they couldn't accept it, did it really matter?

What was the point of living if you were lonely the entire time?

Maybe that was what he was secretly afraid of, and if it was true for him, maybe it was true for Oliver as well.

They'd both see terrible things, they both knew the world was dangerous, and they also both had an advantage against those dangerous things. Did it really matter that one of them could be put in danger at anytime? What did being safe matter if they were miserable?

Looking back on it, there were so many things that Barry regretted.

Not being able to save his mother, not being able to keep his father out of prison, letting himself get bullied day in and day out during school, growing distant from his brother, not handling what happened with Jen better, secretly using Becky and Iris both to try and suppress his own feelings, not being able to save the man that was killed when he confronted Mardon, not being able to save the Metas (Danton, Bette, Tony, the others)... confronting the other speedster without backup.

It was impossible not to make mistakes in your life, but was it possible to turn things around before he made one of the worst mistakes of all?

When he arrived back at the loft, the kitchen smelled _amazing_ , and after all that running he was admittedly famished, but his eyes were focused one hundred percent on Oliver Queen, taking in the sight of him, not just how utterly and bizzarely domestic he looked while making breakfast, but _everything about him_.

Apparently having begun to pick up on the audio cues of the Flash's entrance, the Arrow turned to look at him, and smiled, that breathtaking, devastatingly gorgeous smile.

"Hey Barry, I'm making pan-"

The archer never got to finish his sentence. His words were cut off as Barry zipped directly in front of him and crushed their lips together, every bit of passion he'd felt for the man since they met expressed through it, all the pain that had been consuming him for _years_.

Caitlin was right.

Life was too damn short, and he was _done_ with regrets.

* * *

 **Phew, I only wrote the last two or three thousand words today, but up until a few minutes ago I felt like I was getting nowhere with this chapter, so when the inspiration for the conversation between Barry and Caitlin hit me, I HAD to write it, no matter how later it was. This story's starting to getting exciting finally, I feel like I can expand on my own since - while I plan to incorporate Arrow's season three and upcoming four, as well as the Flash's end of the first season and upcoming second, it might not be in as tight of a timeline as the series actually aired, as I explained in my other author's notes. I have a plan for what's going to happen in this story after the Flash's season premiere, and since I don't want to stop writing while we wait for October, I plan to take the story my way but still use the plots that will occur in as of yet unaired episodes, but more as a basic guideline, since this IS a Flarrow story.**

 **For any of you wondering about the girls that Barry "dated" who were mentioned in this chapter, Becky is the "nightmare of a high school girlfriend" that Iris mentioned when he started dating Linda, and Jen is an OC of mine who you'll learn more about later. I hope you're enjoying this so far and continue to follow along.**

 **Be sure to leave a review and tell me your thoughts!**


	13. Enemies

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

"What was _that?_ " Oliver managed to ask when the younger man finally pulled away from him. He'd been too stunned by the unexpected action to actually _respond_ to it, simply standing there in a state of mild shock as Barry had pressed himself against the archer and kissed him deeply for several long moments.

There was a grin on the kid's face that almost made him suspicious, but the way his eyes sparkled with raw determination and confidence made him think that something was up.

"I talked to Caitlin," The speedster informed him, and a once-over revealed that he was telling the truth, both of his casts were gone, which meant he was healed. Good. "She asked me about you, apparently she's known all along about...how I feel." Seeing the older male blink in response, he added, "She also said she told you a while ago, and that you didn't take her seriously."

"She was right, I didn't. At the time." He confirmed, quickly turning the stove top off before anything could burn, "Did she happen to mention threatening me with death in the event that I ever did anything to hurt you?"

His tone was almost playful, and that in itself should have been a testament to how different he was around Barry.

The forensicist looked shocked, "She... _seriously?_ "

Caitlin Snow had given Oliver Queen the shovel talk.

Unbelievable.

He ran his hands over his face in embarrassed amusement, "Nice. But, no, she didn't tell me about that. We talked, though I mostly listened, and she brought up a few good points. On the way back here, I realized something... All the horrible stuff you've said you did in the past? I don't care." He held his hand up to stop the vigilante from arguing, "I know, I've told you that before, but just hear me out. For starters, we hadn't even met back then, and I'm not the kind of person who would hold that sort of thing against you in the first place. I don't want to have any more regrets, Oliver, and I knew if I walked away from you without even _trying_ to tell you how I feel, that I _would_ regret it for the rest of my life." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to get the words out before he lost his nerve, "The truth is... I love you."

By the time Barry had finished talking, he looked anxious and out of breath, but there was also an obvious relief in the way he gazed back at his mentor, as though just letting it all out had taken an enormous amount of weight off of his shoulders.

Oliver wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew how Barry felt about him, of course, and had known for awhile now. Yesterday had only confirmed it, and he also knew that he had very deep feelings for the younger man as well, which he'd been trying to deny up until recently, but it was pointless.

Did he _love_ him, though?

Could he really, truly feel that way for another person?

Losing Sara had nearly destroyed him. He'd gone through it three times now. The first time, on the Queen's Gambit, he'd been a stupid kid. As much as he loved Laurel, the idea of committment had sent him into a panic, and he'd done possibly the worst thing possible; he'd taken her younger sister on the yachet, and when it capsized, he watched helpessly as she was swept out of the porthole.

It had been horrifying, yet he never really had the time to grieve her, not while he was on the island getting hunted down by psychos, tortured, shot with an arrow, etc. All he could think of was getting back home, so he could tell Laurel the truth, and apologize to her for what he'd done. He never expected to find Sara on Lian Yu, alive, but not herself. She'd become cold and distant, for the sake of her own survival. And then he lost her _again_ , in almost exactly the same way.

When he discovered, several years later, that she was The Canary, it came as a shock. How could she have escaped death _twice?_ Oliver had been so happy to see her, despite everything terrible that had happened between them, despite the fact that neither of them were the same person the other once knew. He still couldn't keep himself away from her though, he still loved her... and when she was murdered, and he was watching her body - cold and lifeless on the table of his hideout, with a sobbing Laurel in front of him - he'd felt _nothing_.

He couldn't bring himself to cry for her, maybe because he'd watched her die too many times already, or maybe his brain refused to process what he was seeing, that this time it was for real, and the darkness seemed to swallow him, leaving him feeling empty. Sara was meant to be the last person he ever loved, the last one that he hurt. She was gone, he couldn't be with her. But he couldn't be with Laurel or Felicity or _anyone_ , not after how badly he'd screwed things up with them all, so he'd prepared himself, fully ready to accept that he would be alone.

 _This_ had been the furthest from what he thought would happen between him and Barry. It wasn't supposed to go down like this, he was never meant to fall in love again. He had, though.

Oliver should have seen the signs a long time ago, but by the time he'd realized what was happening, the kid had already gotten closer to him than he'd ever intended. It was too late to change anything now, because he was falling hard for Central City's hero, and he _knew_ it.

It then occured to him that he should probably say something, he'd been standing there in silence for too long.

"Barry-"

The younger man seemed sad and resigned all at once though. His expression was painful to look at. "It's okay, Oliver. I understand, if you don't feel the same way about me, it's alright. I get that this all must be just as new to you as it is to me, and maybe even more confusing. I know that you care about me, and really? That's good enough. I-I think people put too much pressure on the whole-"

In a matter of seconds, the archer had closed the distance between them, caught his friend around the waist, and whirled them around so he was pinned up against the refrigerator, kissing him hard, and murmuring against his lips, "Honestly, Barry, do you _ever_ stop talking?"

His eyes closed after a moment, and the other boy slowly wrapped his arms around the vigilante's neck, holding him tight, sheer joy rushing through him.

A rude way to interrupt someone?

Absolutely, but it was quite effective.

Oliver _did_ love Barry, it was true, and maybe he wasn't ready to say it out loud just yet, but he could see himself there, someday, because, honestly? As they stood there, intertwined, simply enjoying being in each other's presence, he didn't really mind. Feeling the speedster's lightning fast pulse against his own, his lips caressing Barry's, he felt something he hadn't in a long time.

 _Hope_.

* * *

Barry headed back to Central City after breakfast.

He still had a murderer to catch, and he knew Oliver was busy working on a new case - Felicity had called him with a lead shortly before he left. Even so, the older male had made it a point to tell him to keep him updated on what was going on, and not to do anything stupid.

Most people probably would have found the unneccessary reminder insulting, but he was a bit touched at the obvious sign of concern for his wellbeing.

Just as predicted, he'd gotten an earful from Joe about his recklessness once he got back, but decided to put it behind them while they got to work on catching their guy.

They even managed to blackmail Dr. McGee into handing over the perfect bait to lure the man in yellow to S.T.A.R. Labs - the Tachyon Device Prototype. While he expected Joe to be angry at him, his foster father merely smirked and looked the other way, despite being a cop, even congratulating him afterwards.

It was to protect Iris too, after all.

* * *

 _"We think it'd be best if you sit this one out."_

Barry couldn't believe Joe and Dr. Wells actually thought he would go along with that. Just because he happened to be personally motivated. What did they expect? That bastard had murdered his mother and sent his father to prison for life by framing him! Hell, he'd been back in town just a few weeks and had so far threatened Iris's life, broke into Mercury Labs, and tried to kill him!

No, he was definitely _not_ sitting this one out.

Right now, though, he needed a breather - to get away from S.T.A.R. Labs. He needed to run and clear his mind...

He needed to see his dad.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Slugger." His father smiled at him through the bulletpoof glass as he sat down.

Well, technically it would be in two days, but that was still close enough, Barry gripped the phone in his hand a little tighter, "Merry Christmas." His smile faded, he wanted to be happy to see his dad, but his facade always seemed to break apart around Henry Allen, the stress of the last few days which was slowly getting to him didn't help.

Concern flickered across the older man's face, noticing the change. "You alright, Barry?"

"...No," he shook his head, unable to lie to his father. "I-I screwed up, Dad. After... _years_ of searching, I finally found him. I found the man who killed Mom. The man in yellow - the one in the lightning. He's out there, and I had him. He got away... I was so close."

His father stared at him.

"I promised you that I would get you out of here." Both of them were fighting back tears, although Barry more noticably so. His father was stronger than him, though. "Every day you've spent in here is because of him. Until today. Now you're in here because of me, and I'm so sorry..." he took a deep, shaky breath, "I tried, but I-I wasn't fast enough."

Covering his face with his free hand, Barry wiped the tears from his eyes using the back of his palm, struggling to control his breathing.

"Oh, Barry..." His father looked at him, sadness evident in his eyes, "Barry. This is _not_ your fault. Look at me." He did, even though his vision was blurry. "I know what you've given up, every decision you've made in the past fourteen years has been because of me and your mom. Why you studied, why you became a CSI, even with Iris..."

"Iris...?" he asked, softly, confused.

"Yeah, and that other girl. Rebecca."

Oh, right, Becky.

"You're my _son_ ," Henry emphasized, "You don't think I didn't know what you were doing? I know you were in pain, Barry, I could see it in your eyes. You thought bringing your classmate over to meet me would fool me? I think it just hurt you more in the end, pretending like that. I know you never liked girls, not like that anyways. And you know something?"

Barry was frozen, and his eyes closed as he swallowed hard, bracing himself. "..Y-Yeah?'

"Your mom knew too, and it didn't matter to her either."

He looked back at his father, shocked.

"But that's not the point I'm trying to make," he continued on, a small smile playing at his lips, "You never got to be a kid, Barry. You didn't have fun, or go out and do dumb, teenager things like you were supposed to. Because you were too consumed with what happened to me and your mom to let yourself have a life."

From the look on Henry's face, he could tell this was just as hard to say as it was for Barry to hear, "Well, not anymore. Let it go now, Barry, _please_. Sebastian did."

It wasn't fair of him to bring up his brother like that.

Sebastian never "let it go". He _ran away._ The older of the Allen siblings had changed his last name, and disowned his father, taking off for Europe to live with their aunt and uncle. He wasn't "living his life", he was doing everything he could to forget his past.

The younger man refused to do the same.

Henry could see the stubborness on his son's face, "The man in the yellow suit... he's taken enough from us already. Don't let him take anymore."

And there, that was when he figured out just what his father was saying.

Catch him, if he could, bring him to justice, but... if he couldn't, then he shouldn't spend the rest of his life hunting a phantom, his father just wanted him to live.

It was a selfless thing to ask of his son...

...and he still couldn't do it.

* * *

Barry was at the forensics lab, although the police station was pretty much deserted at the moment. Maybe it was petty of him to sit there and sulk, pissed off at his own team for not letting him be there for the confrontation, but he also kept replaying the conversation with his father over and over again in his mind.

Maybe he should call Oliver?

They'd only just parted that morning, but he already missed the archer, plus he always managed to get some insight and comfort just from talking to him... He had texted him to let him know he wouldn't be at the lab when it went down, but hadn't heard anything back as of yet.

He was considering it, when he recieved a text from Caitlin.

 ** _S.O.S. Get here, ASAP!_**

* * *

The speedster arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs just in time to stop the man in the yellow suit from killing Joe.

He'd taken out all of the task force members - knocked unconscious, thankfully, and not dead. But he wasn't sure about Dr. Wells, and the sight of the man on the floor, bloodied and beaten, sent him in a rage as he launched himself at the murderer, initiating their third encounter.

While he didn't expect the man to tackle him out a window and throw him into a car's rear windshield, he wasn't about to go down without a fight. The impact definitely cracked a few ribs, but he shook off the pain and within seconds he was fighting the bastard again, trying to keep up with him, but the guy had training.

Seeing Cisco and Caitlin standing by the front entrance was worrisome, he didn't want them to get put in danger during this.

His momentary distraction was a mistake, his foe got several good hooks in, he could taste the blood in his mouth as he was punched, and then he was on his back, the yellow-suited man standing over him, his boot pressing down on his throat, cutting off his air.

Barry couldn't _breathe_ , and he heard Caitlin scream his name.

Then, a blast of fire came out of nowhere and knocked the other speedster off of him, much to his shock.

 _But... how?_

He turned his head and saw a man standing there, flames spouting from his head and hands, eyes glowing as he glared down their (apparently mutual) enemy, before his eyes shifted to Caitlin, and softened.

Wait, she knew this guy? This... Burning Man, as the media had been calling him?

Before he could fully process that, the man in yellow stood up, vibrating so fast he couldn't even make out any part of his face, except those sinister red eyes.

 _"Our race is not yet done,"_ he told him, his voice sending a chill through Barry, despite the rage coursing through his veins. _"See you soon, Flash."_

Then he was gone.

Snapping out of the daze, Cisco ran over to help him up, while Caitlin ran to the human torch who had probably just saved his life.

He said something to the bioengineer, before bursting into flames again, using them to propel him upwards into the sky, flying off into the night, blazing like a comet.

 _What the fuck?_

* * *

Ronnie was alive.

The speedster honestly wished he could say he was surprised, but it was hard to think that anything was impossible these days. He didn't prod when Caitlin told him, mostly because she looked so broken and he was sure if he did, she would start crying.

But Barry knew he would help her, if she ever asked him to, because that's what friends were for, and she was the reason he had been able to fully open up to Oliver about his feelings anyways, so he kind of owed her.

 _...Shit!_

He'd been so distracted by everything going on that he'd completely forgotten to talk to Oliver. After checking to see if Dr. Wells was alright, visiting with his father, making up with Joe and talking to Caitlin, it had slipped his mind. He wasn't used to having someone in another city worrying about him.

Well, except for Felicity, but they mostly kept in touch via email anyways.

Barry reached for his phone and called Oliver - who was now on his speed dial - but he didn't get an answer.

Frowning slightly, he figured the older male must have been out patrolling Starling late that evening, or possibly even asleep. It wouldn't surprise him, given the time. In fact, he normally would have been in bed by now himself, had he not gone over to Joe's for the little impromptu pre-Christmas party.

Shaking off the slight disappointment he felt, Barry checked the time again, before shrugging and deciding to go take a shower, which he knew would help soothe the slight ache left over from his recently-healed ribs, it wasn't like he had work in the morning.

As soon as he was under the hot spray of water, he began to relax, sighing as he washed off a day of sweat and stress.

He'd just finished rinsing his hair when he heard the knock on his door, and frowned, because it was nearly one in the morning - who was visiting his apartment at this hour?

Because the door was locked and he knew no one was just going to barge in (not unless it was his brother, who had a habit of picking said locks), he stepped out of the shower and zipped to his room, drying off just enough so he wouldn't end up dripping water all over the place, and throwing on some clean nightwear before heading to see who it was, unlocking the door and opening it.

 _What the hell?_

No one was there.

But, on the floor, there was a thick, sealed yellow envelope.

Looking around for a moment, Barry warily bent down and picked it up, before retreating back into his apartment.

He sat down on the couch and tore it open, not thinking twice about it. Normally he would know better, considering what kind of nasty things people could send through the mail, but ever since he'd gotten struck by lighting he was supposedly immune to any forms of disease, and apparently alcohol and medication as well.

As he dumped out the contents of the envelope - a high-tech looking black cell phone and a bunch of documents - a deep frown appeared on his face.

Just who had left this for him, and _why?_

Barry considered delivering it to the police, he knew it was the right thing to do, but his curiosity got the better of him.

He turned the phone on; it was fully charged, with a number pre-programmed into it. The young man only hesitated for a moment, before calling it.

It was answered on the first ring.

 _"Hello, Barry."_ An obviously scrambled voice spoke, _"I'm glad you decided to call."_

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" He wasted no time with idle chit-chat, he did work for CCPD, and this sort of thing was right out of some lame crime-drama movie, plus it was late and he wasn't in the best of moods.

 _"My identity is irrelevant. I know who you are, and that's all that matters. I've done my research on you, and I know your secret...Flash."_

Barry nearly dropped the cell, he caught his breath, frozen for several long seconds, and when he spoke, he tried to sound casual, and mask the panic he was feeling, "Is this some kind of prank? I don't know what you're talking about."

 _"I'm not one to play games,"_ The voice responded, _"If you need proof, then fine. I'll give you proof."_

Ding!

He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked down, immediately wishing he hadn't. The person had sent him a photograph - several, actually, of the Flash, entering S.T.A.R. Labs, and him coming out, dressed as a civilian. Sure, it wasn't definitive proof, but that just meant whoever this was had been smart enough to figure out who Barry was, and that in itself had him on edge.

"What do you want from me?"

 _"I'm not a threat, Barry, this I promise you, I have no desire to reveal your secret, either._ _I don't enjoy blackmailing kids, and I'm well aware I will pay for breaking the law, but some things are more important than freedom... How you got your abilities is of little interest to me, however. But I'm sure you know there are others like you with less noble intentions. One of those people are in Central City now, and have been responsible for the strange attacks happening recently."_

There was a pause, and heavy, masked breathing, as though the person on the other end was barely suppressing their anger.

 _"The police have no leads. My patience is wearing thin with them, that's why I've contacted you. I want you to find out all you can on the individual responsible, and stop him - whatever the cost. Don't tell anyone else about this. We can reach each other at this number if necessary, but do not try to have the phone traced. It can't be, and if you attempt it, I will know. Goodbye."_ They hung up.

Unsure how to feel about the situation, Barry shrugged off the urge to call Joe, just in case he was being watched. For all he knew, this person would be willing to do far more than simply reveal his secret. He had no way of knowing if they were dangerous to the people he cared about.

It was obvious that they had some animosity towards the police.

Running his fingers through his hair a few times, he exhaled, and began looking through the papers that came with the phone, to see just what it was he was meant to be looking in to...

As his green eyes quickly scanned the information, Barry felt dread curling in the pit of his stomach, because these attacks were positively horrific to read about. Young men and women of a similiar type being dragged into alleys and brutally assaulted, stabbed repeatedly, and had their throats slit. The pictures included made him feel queasy, the sheer amount of violence this supposed-Metahuman had inflicted on them was gruesome, to say the least.

He couldn't help understanding why they were so bizarre to the investigators looking into it.

Because, according to the coroner's statements, the killer was some kind of... _vampire_.

 _You have got to be kidding me._

* * *

 **I told you things were going to start going off of the canonical track! Thought we needed a little more drama, I want to stretch this story out and explore the characters a bit more before jumping right to where Flash season 01 ended, but don't worry, I'm still planning on using the League of Assassins plot from Arrow, but like I said, it's being pushed back a bit in favor of me trying out a few original plot ideas!**


	14. A Close Call

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

 _"...Authorities are left baffled by the serial rapist and murderer - known on social media as the Sangria Slayer - who has been at large for over a month now. Victims are brunette men and women between the ages of eighteen and twenty five._ _There is no description for the suspect responsible, although possible witnesses have said that he may be caucasian and in his early thirties. If you have any information please call the Central City Police Department's anonymous tipline-"_

Shaking his head, Barry turned off the television that was mounted to the wall with an audible 'click', before turning to look at the rest of...Team Flash, as they were now apparently called.

He blamed Cisco.

Noticing the skeptical expressions on their faces - even Dr. Wells' - he gave a frustrated sigh, "Guys, there's no way this _isn't_ another Meta-Human. Why can't you see it?"

The young man had been searching for this killer for over three weeks now, completely on his own, and was getting nowhere even after having obtained additional police reports. Finally, he had to call the person - the one that had contacted him - and ask for permission to get his team involved, promising not to mention the blackmail, and they'd agreed, so he had brought up his suspicions with them, and was promptly shut down.

Now, he was beginning to think he should have just gone to Oliver. He knew that the archer would have helped him, but he didn't want to seem needy. They were taking things slow. While they still texted daily and talked on the phone every so often, as well as Barry visiting on his weekends off, things were still new (not to mention exciting), and the thought of dragging the older male into this whole mess seemed like a bad idea...

Biting her lip, Caitlin wrung her hands together, glancing over at Cisco uncertainly, before she moved forward, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Look, Barry, we're not saying it's _impossible_ , just... highly unlikely."

Annoyed by her placating tone, he took a step away from her, "And I'm telling you that the evidence doesn't lie. None of these victims had defensive wounds, they were all blitz attacked, brutalized and left for dead. There was _saliva_ in the wounds, he's _drinking their blood_. That doesn't sound even _slightly_ unnatural to you?"

"Ted Bundy was a murderer, it didn't mean he had powers." Dr. Wells told him, "So was Jeffrey Dahmer, Paul Bernardo, Elizabeth Bathory, Dennis Rader, they're still human."

Well, clearly Wells had a different opinion than him on what the word _human_ meant.

"It's definitely...strange, but I'm sure there's a perfectly scientific explanation for it, we just haven't figured it out yet." Cisco supplied, shuffling awkwardly when Barry turned to look at him.

"Besides, why would a Metahuman just start killing random people anyways?"

Looking at him with disbelief, the man known as the Flash responded, "Because he's _sick?_ Why did Clyde Mardon feel the need to continue robbing banks after the plane crash even though he pretty much got a free pass with the police thinking he died? Some people are incapable of changing. CCPD has been after this guy for _weeks_ and they've got zero leads, people are still being attacked and murdered. The least I can do is _try_."

Seeing the desperate look on his bioengineer's face at the sheer stubborness the superhero was displaying, Dr. Wells sighed, "And what if he _is_ a Metahuman? There's no telling what his power is or what he could do to you, Barry. Until we know for sure, it just seems too dangerous for the Flash to risk going after him."

That answer just further aggravated, mostly because he knew what his mentor was saying did make sense. But he hated feeling helpless, especially in both of his jobs, he wished there was some way he could find this guy, he couldn't just tell the others that he was being blackmailed either.

It didn't even matter at this point, after reading the coroner's statements, he genuinely wanted to find this psychopath and see him behind bars.

At the moment he was at a loss, though.

Wait, maybe there _was_ something he could do...

"Fine," Barry's voice was cold and clipped when he spoke again, "The Flash stays off the case. For _now_." He emphasized, turning to head out of the lab, but paused halfway throug the doorframe, looking over his shoulder at them, "For the record, the latest victim? He cut her up so badly they needed dental records to identify her. Her name was Stacey Martin and she was nineteen years old."

He was gone before they could say anything else to him.

It was painful to hear the lack of compassion from them sometimes. He knew the three of them were actually good and kind people, and he cared about them a lot, but they were just such... _scientists_. It occasionally seemed like they looked at things in a clinical, unfeeling way.

Deciding to blame it on the fact that they were always inside - that they didn't have to see the damage that the Metas and even the regular humans were doing to people first hand - he made a conscious effort not to focus on the argument, opting instead to head home and get ready.

* * *

When he arrived at the Mental Health Care Unit at the hospital, he had one of the night nurses direct him to Angela Martin's room. She was slightly hesitant - whether due to the fact that he was a man or because of why she was in there, he had no idea - and after informing her that he was with the police she was willing to overlook the "family only" rule.

The first thing Barry noticed about her was that she wasn't a brunette like her younger sister had been, though her hair appeared to be colored blonde, and he wondered if that was why the killer had chosen Stacey to kill instead of Angela, the rest of his victims had been dark-haired as well...

She looked terrible; her right wrist was in a cast, she was covered in bruises of all different colors, and she was hooked up to a ventilator which was pumping oxygenated air into her lungs, due to the respiratory problems she'd been having since being admitted, caused by several fractured ribs and a pulmonary contusion contributing to her breathing difficulties, most likely.

Obviously, she hadn't gone down without a fight.

Despite all the different wires going in and out of her body, and the damage the assailant had done to her, he could tell she was a beautiful girl. Probably popular, her sunny tan indicated she spent a lot of time outdoors, and she seemed athletic, sporty.

What happened to her was just as horrifying as the others, if not more so. Angela and her sister had gone to the movies one night, when they were ambushed by someone clad in black. As the older sibling, she had tried to defend Stacey, but was violently beaten in the process. Her police report couldn't describe the man, but mentioned that she was in and out of consciousness throughout the attack, she had watched him slit Stacey's throat after raping her.

A few days after arriving at the ICU, she attempted to commit suicide by strangling herself with her IV, and was transfered into their psychiatric unit.

If it wasn't a Metahuman, then he had no idea who was capable of doing these things without leaving behind any helpful evidence... He'd taken down two fit, healthy young women at the same time, not to mention half a dozen other victims.

Just then he heard someone clear their throat, and turned around just a little too quickly, tensing as an instinctive reaction.

Standing in the doorway was an older woman in her early to late sixties. She was short, with silver hair tied back to reveal her tanned, weathered face, and with the crinkles in the corners of her bright green eyes and lines around her mouth, he could tell she was a happy person that smiled often.

There was no happiness there now, however, no hint of a smile. Instead, her expression was weary, but brimming with concern, anger, sadness and suspicion all at once. The lack of uniform indicated she was probably a family member.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her posture was stiff.

Sensing that she was probably about to call for the hospital security, he took a brisk step forward, putting his hands up slightly in a surrendering manner, "Mrs...Martin?" he asked, and she gave a tight nod. "My name is Barry Allen, I'm with the Central City Police Department's Forensics Division."

Almost instantly, her shoulders relaxed in response, "The police already asked me a bunch of questions..." she said quietly, before giving him a look, "You... here to see Angie?"

* * *

Ten minutes later they were both sitting in the nearly deserted cafeteria, after Barry had offered to buy her a cup of coffee so the could talk. The woman, Nina she'd insisted he call her, seemed to warm to him slightly when she found out that he was off work, but that he just wanted to see how her granddaughter was doing.

"My Joey met the girls' mother when they were still teenagers. She was such a sweet girl, Maria. They broke up in college, he wanted to be a lawyer and she wanted to be an anthropologist. They both had such high aspirations, but they were stubborn. Yet fate brought them back together again..." when her fond smile faded he got the distinct feeling that the love story did not have a happy ending. "Stacey and Angela moved to Central City to live with me when they were eleven and thirteen."

That got his full attention.

A possible lead?

"You mean they didn't always live here?"

Nina shook her head, "No, no. Joey and Maria lived out of the state. My son and his wife were both killed in a burglary almost nine years ago. My poor granddaughters witnessed the whole thing; if they weren't so resilient I would have worried that they wouldn't be able to get past it..."

Barry's heart constricted slightly at the new information.

That's how old he had been when his mother was killed... Eleven.

Just like Stacey, he'd had an older sibling that helped him stay stronger too. Of course he knew there was no connection, but Angela had been through something very similar. Only she'd lost _both_ of her parents. He couldn't imagine what his life would have ended up being like had his father died that night too.

His dad was the reason he went into forensics in the first place, the reason he desired to help people at all. If he hadn't had that driving force behind him all of these years, he probably never would have become the Flash. As painful as losing his mom had been, he knew that event was part of what made him who he was that day.

But for someone to go through such a tragedy when they were a child, and then have _this_ happen to them, losing their little sister in the process, it was sad to think about. It was reasons like this that he couldn't believe in God, or destiny. Because if there was a deity out there watching them, why did he let such awful things happen to good people?

No, it was easier to go on thinking that some people were simply born evil, that they did evil things, rather than that some cosmic force intentionally caused it all to happen.

Snapping out of his thoughts, which, thanks to his brain constantly moving at hyper speed, had only lasted a split second, he looked back into Nina Martin's kind, sad green eyes, and told her, "We're going to find the person responsible for this, I promise."

* * *

Despite the fact that it was already going for two in the morning and he had to be to work rather early tomorrow, Barry couldn't bring himself to simply zip back to his apartment in the seconds that it would take.

It was cool outside, breezy, and sometimes, even though he absolutely loved the freedom and adrenaline that came with his speed, he enjoyed taking his time. It was rare that he had these quiet, tranquil moments. Looking up at the night sky, he couldn't help but admire the glowing stars sprinkled across it.

Before his mother died, he recalled telling her once that he wanted to be an astronomer, or an astrophysicist, something having to do with outerspace, and the universe as a whole. It had always fascinated him. He was making his way across town, taking a couple of cuts along the way to avoid cars, because distractions made it harder to think.

That was when it hit him, what Nina had said, about Stacey and Angela moving across the state to live with her...

 _Of course!_

Why didn't he consider it sooner?!

The police were so focused on the rapist's current crimes that they never stopped to consider the fact that he might have had a past criminal record, that he might not have even been from Central City at all! Even if this was a Metahuman they were dealing with, who was to say that he hadn't been committing his crimes even before the Particle Accelerator malfunctioned?

He could have been doing this for months, or even for years, and no one would have noticed, either because at the time nothing was out of the ordinary from any other violent crime, or because he had been more careful than he was these days.

Knowing for a fact that gaining superpowers tended to give you a somewhat big head at times, it was possible that this man had more victims, that he just became reckless because his recently discovered abilities made him cocky!

If he was right about this, it could lead to a huge break in the case, if they expanded their search to criminal databases in other cities in the state, they could contact other police departments and get cooperation!

A spark of excitement ran through his body, and he found himself feeling more determined and hopeful than he had before.

He had to tell Joe, and Captain Singh.

Maybe Cisco and Caitlin too.

They could catch this guy, he was certain of it!

Barry was so lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him, not until it was too late.

Something heavy struck him over the back of his head, sending a shooting pain up the back of his skull, making him stumble as he nearly blacked out, but before he could fully register what had happened, he was being shoved roughly up against the dilapidated brick wall of the alley he'd been using as a shortcut.

Despite his now blurry vision, he forced himself to focus, and when he was met with a pair of cruel grey eyes that stood out on a deathly pale face, his heart skipped a beat.

A man, older than he was, dressed in all black.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, dread curled in the pit of his stomach; every fiber in his being was screaming at him to turn and run away, but he couldn't, his entire body felt sluggish and incredibly weak, out of nowhere.

Ignoring this, he tried to move, and his legs almost instantly gave out undeneath him. His arms, despite suddenly feeling like they were made of jelly, managed to catch him before he could hit his face off the ground and probably break his nose. When he lifted his head back up, a surge of panic rushed through Barry, because the man was gone.

No, not gone, _behind him_.

His heart was racing, and his thoughts seemed slower than usual; that frightened him. But that wasn't the worst part. It was the nausea that hit him next, his whole body felt as though it was being weighed down by lead and he wanted to just curl up into a ball and clutch his stomach agony, but he couldn't, because he could barely move.

The speedster heard gravel crunching under boots, someone getting closer to him, circling him.

 _Heard_.

Barry was confused... what was going on? Why couldn't he move? Why was it so dark, hadn't there been street lights nearby just a moment ago? He blinked rapidly, trying to restore his foggy sight, but it just seemed to make everything all that fuzzier.

That was when he realized he was being dragged, further into the alley.

It took every bit of energy he had simply to keep his head up, until he felt a pair of cold, clammy hands grasping his face, and he could _feel_ those eyes on him, but he still couldn't see, and the headache was becoming nearly unbearable at this point.

He felt worse than that one time in college when he woke up on the floor of a frat house after a keg party - which his friend had all but abducted him in order to get him to attend with him - the night before with a massive, crippling hangover.

" _...H-Help me._ "

Who was he asking for help?

Barry wasn't sure.

All he got in response at first was a deep chuckle, while those cool fingers were brushing back his hair, and the feeling of lips against his ear sent a shudder racing down his spine, the nauseated feeling becoming worse, "Soon," the man purred to him, "I promise."

That was the moment he began actually struggling, finally starting to realize what was going on.

His mind went into overdrive, trying to fight off the dizzying effects of whatever influence this person had on him, the haze on his brain was making him feel sick and sleepy, to stop him from fighting back. He was straining with the effort it took simply to pull himself away from the man.

It seemed like whatever this drug-like power was he had, it was delaying his super speed. That scared him a lot more than he cared to admit, but even without it he wasn't _completely_ helpless, he learned that after the incident with Blackout.

Caitlin told him that even without his speed, his mind was still constantly working as fast as always, which meant his body was also fighting off this man's power like it would with an infection.

He managed to turn over onto his back, and started blindly kicking upwards at the man, feeling a short-lived amount of satisfaction when his foot impacted something solid and heard a startled grunt of pain.

Yes, he'd got him!

Barry somehow managed to scramble to his feet, albeit rather unsteadily, and tried to feel his way out of the alley, going as quickly as he could at the moment while still being careful, lest he run into a wall and knock himself unconscious.

It _would_ happen to him.

The man was apparently able to recover quickly though, because he next heard a quiet laugh, that sounded like a mixture of surprise and amusement, "You can still fight back..." There was a twisted sort of interest in his voice, as though the idea excited him.

A hand grabbed him by the ankle then, giving it a painful twist as he was yanked back down, despite his attempts to kick the attacker away.

Then a sharp pain ran up his lower left side as he was kicked in return, _hard_. He let out a weak groan in response, because that cracking sound was not good, he knew from experience, it probably meant he had a broken rib or something now.

 _Fantastic._

Struggling to pull himself up into a sitting position, ignoring the throb of pain in his lower right side, he tried to get to his feet again, but his legs were even weaker than before, and wobbly.

Barry fell forward as soon as he tried to back away from where he last heard sound coming from, only to be caught by hands roughly grabbing his shoulders.

One of them moved to cup the side of his face, "So... _beautiful..._ "

Disgust ran through him at the compliment, and he recoiled at the touch, but his movements were sluggish, and delayed.

His mind was just clear enough to realize that he wasn't thinking straight, and that he needed to do _something_.

But what? What was he supposed to do when he could barely move. As the Flash he relied almost entirely on his speed, both in helping people and and himself, when a situation was too dangerous and he needed to get away... but now he couldn't.

Then it occured to him to _scream_.

Screaming was something civilians did when they needed help. He wasn't in uniform, no one was going to look at him and see the Flash, they would see a regular man getting attacked by a sadistic serial killer in an alley. So that's exactly what he did.

Barry screamed, long and loud, hoping someone passing by would hear him. His voice wasn't as clear as usual, and his tone was slurred - he probably sounded like he was drunk or high - but it didn't matter, because he _had_ to get the attention of someone.

He kept yelling, renewing his fighting, until a hard fist struck him across the face with such a force that it knocked him back to the ground.

The man spat angrily at him, "No one's going to hear you, you little _bitch_."

He opened his mouth to scream for help again, but was cut off a moment later when pale, frigid hands wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air, and he panicked even further, instinctively clawing at the fingers to try to get them off. But the man was choking him, he couldn't _breathe_ and now he couldn't speak either.

"Just make this easier for yourself," Came the hissed warning as the fingers on his neck relaxed just slightly, and he drew in sharp, shaky gasps, pulse hammering in his chest faster than ever, and barely registering the fact that the man was now hovering over him until he felt his legs being pinned down by a heavy weight.

The trapped speedster froze at this, and he suddenly wanted to throw up, because the full gravity of the situation had finally hit him. He was alone, helpless, at night, with a violent psychopath, and he could feel his attacker's arousal pressing into his kneecap, and that scared him senseless.

He was _terrified_ , moisture gathering in his eyes as he realized just how afraid he truly was.

What could he do now?

A hand snaked up beneath his shirt, fingers sliding over his abdomen and he shuddered hard, fear causing adrenaline to spike through his bloodstream.

" _No_ ," Barry choked out, despite his now likely bruised throat was protesting against him speaking, "Please, don't. Get off of me. I-I have money, just take it and go." He knew that wasn't what the Meta wanted, but he was just trying to stall him while he thought of a plan.

He knew he sounded pathetic, but he hadn't felt this vulnerable in a long time, and he had no idea what he could do, his attacker had drained him of all energy and physically overpowered him as well. It made him regret not telling the others, because secret identity be damned, they could have helped him.

Another dark chuckle, and he felt the man rooting through his pants pocket, pulling out what had to be his wallet. A noise of interest left the man. He must have found his ID then.

"Barry Allen..." His heart stopped briefly when his name left the lips of his attacker. "Assistant Forensics Technician for the Criminal and Forensic Science Division of the Central City Police Department's Crime Scene Investigation Unit." He whistled, sounding slightly impressed. "Quite a title you have there. Oh well, that doesn't matter now anyways."

Cold lips pressed against his then, a slimy tongue forcing its way into his mouth, and Barry's unseeing eyes widened, bile rose in the back of his throat as his body stiffened with shock, and he did the only thing he could think of in that moment.

He bit down, _hard_.

Pulling back with a loud yelp, the man snarled, and slammed his fist into the younger man's stomach, eliciting a gasp of pain from him. " _Bastard!_ You just _had_ to make this difficult, didn't you?!"

The man ripped open his shirt, sending the buttons flying, and leaving Barry shivering from the cold now too.

Rough fingers tangled into his hair, forcing his head to the side while pain shot through his scalp as a result, his revulsion came back full force when those dry lips pressed against his neck, before the murderer bit down on his collar, and he cried out sharply, but the man ignored him, sinking his teeth into him and...

Was that a _tongue?_

Fucking freak was _licking_ his blood.

He felt sick.

Something cold and sharp pressed against his neck, causing his body to tense when he realized what it was.

A knife.

Oh God, he was going to kill him.

"Not yet..." The murderer crooned, making him wonder if he'd accidentally said it out loud, "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging for death." He chuckled as he slid the flat side of the blade down his throat and chest, and Barry hissed in pain as the tip cut into the soft skin of abdomen, which turned into a shriek as it pressed in further, cutting into him, and he could feel warm blood oozing from the wound.

He bit down on his lip, refusing to give the man the satisfaction of hearing his pain, but it was hard to hold back when the bastard shoved his index finger into the cut, making him squeeze his eyes shut, desperately trying to ignore the feeling of it moving around inside him.

And then it was gone, and he nearly sighed in relief, until he heard a wet, slurping sound.

"You taste so _sweet..._ "

The serial killer's mouth was on his once more, roughly and unpleasant, and despite his attempt to turn his head away, he gripped Barry's jaw tightly, forcing his mouth open and thrusting his tongue inside, he tasted salt and copper, causing his stomach to churn, and he very nearly gagged.

It was only being all too aware of the knife the man was wielding that stopped him from biting the bastard again.

He pulled away, and a scream tore from Barry's already aching throat as the man slashed a cut - at least six inches long - down his left side, and the stinging pain made his eyes water. Despite his quick cellular recovery, he didn't have a very high tolerance for pain, he never had, actually.

"They're healing..." He heard the Metahuman murmur, and Barry stiffened, "You're like me, aren't you?"

Bristling, the speedster spat out, "I am _nothing_ like you!"

He was though, and he knew it. This guy, whatever he had done, was not natural. Barry could feel it, the influence was weakening him, it had...slowed him down, somehow.

But that didn't mean he was going down without a fight.

The Flash didn't _give up_.

"Feisty. I like it." The murderer let out a deranged laugh; a punch to the side of the head made him see stars, before the blade dug into his flesh again, just above his navel, and the man dragged it upwards, causing him to choke out something resembling an agonized cry.

His whole torso felt hot now, despite the chilly January air, he was wet and sticky from his own blood despite the wounds rapidly closing themselves up, it was starting to pool beneath him. The sadist paid him no mind, though, proceeding to make several other cuts of varying length and depth, and eventually he couldn't scream anymore, because his throat was raw and burning, and nobody seemed to be around anyway.

If there were, why weren't they _helping_ him?

Barry was feeling both light and heavy, his vision darkening through the mutiliation, but the pain kept him awake.

The man on top of him shifted, swinging one leg over the young man's knees so he was straddling him, and then that cold hand was caressing his cheek once more, tracing over his lips, which were stained with his own blood. Once more, the young man had the urge to bite him, but he just felt too damn tired, like he wanted to take a nap.

Was this what his victims had experienced? Or did being a Metahuman mean that he was affected differently? He tried to fight him off, but his arms were heavy, like they were being weighed down by an invisible force, and that dizzy, nauseated feeling was just getting worse.

"I'm going to enjoy this, boy." He heard the man growl in his ear all of a sudden, though his voice wasn't the same as before, something about it had changed. " _So much..._ "

There was an eagerness to it that he didn't like.

Barry went rigid when he suddenly felt a hand on his belt.

Ice ran through his veins.

"No, _no_. Please, don't-!"

His words were ignored as the man yanked it off with such force that it nearly broke the loops of his pants.

"Let me go, _please_. Stop! Someone, please, _help me!_ "

The young man was struggling violently again at this point, kicking and punching at the man on top of him futilely, his limbs heavy and weak, the same thought running through his head over and over again: _No, no, no. Th_ _is isn't happening. This can't be happening._

His pants were being pulled down now, tangled around his knees.

"Stop, you _have_ to stop!'

His boxers soon followed them.

"Y-You can't! Please _get off_ , don't do this to me. _Stop it!_ " He was talking so fast his words were running together, his chest was tight and aching, he could barely breathe, and then he was being rolled over onto his stomach, a body much stronger than his own pressing down on him.

"Let's get you a little more comfortable, hmm?" There was a smirk in the killer's voice, ignoring Barry's near hyperventilating as he ran his hands up the young man's sides, icy fingers stroking over his chest and abdomen and-

 _Oh God._

Why hadn't he realized this was going to happen before? He should have, he'd read the reports. Every sick, twisted thing this man had done to those poor people. It hadn't even occured to him. The only thing he'd been afraid of was feeling that blade being drawn across his neck when the guy was going to kill him.

This was _so much worse_.

A knee wedged itself between his thighs, forcing them open despite his struggles, which were proven to be ineffective. The man's own legs had his pinned against the ground. He could feel rocks digging into his flesh, his palms were sweaty as he tried desperately to get the weight of the murderer off of him, trying to push himself up and knock him away, but he felt so weak that he could barely move.

"Please, d-don't! Stop it, God, _please!_ _Stop!_ "

He heard the sound of a zipper being undone, and that's when the dam finally broke.

Hot tears began flowing freely down his face, his breathing coming out in harsh, shallow pants, but he never stopped weakly battling to free himself, still helplessly pleading with the man not to do what he knew was going to happen to him.

Clammy, frigid lips nipped at the back of his neck, making him wince.

All he could think about was how much it was going to _hurt_ , he knew that was a given, this man was not going to be gentle - he was a sick, psychotic killer. And... the looks everyone would give him after. The pity, just like when his mother died and he kept arguing his father's innocence even when no one would believe him.

His friends would find out, and his family.

What would Caitlin and Cisco think? Sebastian? His father? What about Dr. Wells? Joe, the rest of the police force... What would Iris say? Felicity? What about Roy, and Diggle?

 _...Oliver?_

None of them would ever be able to look at him the same way.

He'd just be Barry Allen, the victim, all over again, just like when he was a kid.

 _No!_

 _No, no, no!_

Barry shut his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and with what little energy he had left, threw his elbow backwards as hard as he could, and miraculously impacted something, the loud crack assured him of it. Using the temporary distraction, he managed to knock the man off of him, somehow.

He didn't know how much damage he'd done to his attacker, and he wasn't going to stick around long enough to find out.

Gasping for air, Barry stumbled to his feet, staggering forward, struggling to pull his pants up from around his knees while squinting into the darkness, praying he didn't black out before he could get to where there were people, someone that could help him...

Wasn't there a coffee shop nearby? Hadn't he seen one in the past whenever he'd be running to get to work?

Or...

Did he imagine that?

The young man thought he saw a hint of a streetlight, when he was grabbed from behind, and slammed into a wall, face first, dazing him temporarily. He struggled to turn around and punch the man, but even with his second wind the pain radiating through him and exhaustion was still present, and he wasn't sure he could physically fight off a serial killer.

Barry winced when an ice cold hand grabbed both of his wrists tightly, nails digging into his flesh, hard enough to draw blood, pinning them behind his back.

" _You're going to pay for that._ " The murderer snarled in his ear, sounding truly angry for the first time since their encounter, a shiver went down his spine, and his heart was pounding so fast he thought it was going to burst, and the gut-wrenching fear was making it even more difficult to breathe. "I think I'm gonna take my time with you..."

He kept fighting, refusing to give up, "Let go of me- _Aghhhh!_ " A cry of pain tore passed his lips when a sharp, searing pain shot up through his thigh, courtesy of the Metahuman stabbing him with the blade that had, somehow, managed to slip his mind.

As the murderer yanked at the back of his tattered shirt and threw him onto the filthy ground, Barry coughed, wheezing as he suddenly felt as though the air was vacuumed from his lungs. He reached down and put his hand over the wound, but could feel the blood quickly soaking through his fingers... too much blood.

Despite his healing kicking in rather quickly, the young man was still getting lightheaded.

The man was on top of him again, immobilizing the speedster under his weight, ignoring his weak struggles, and then a hand was pushing painfully down against his lower back, and his breath caught in his throat when he felt something pressing inside of him.

Fingers.

Oh God.

Fear, a fear so strong engulfed him that he felt like he was going to pass out.

Maybe that would have been preferable though.

He felt them moving around inside of him, invasively, twisting and thrusting, _spreading him_ , and he wanted to be sick, the stretch burned, and he was shaking horribly, still trying to get out from under the man. But he just wasn't _strong enough_ , and his entire body felt weak from exhaustion.

"Oh God. No! _Please don't!_ Take them out, just _stop it already!_ " He begged, his voice raw from screaming, entire body trembling - _vibrating_ \- with fear, the tears burning in his eyes even though he already couldn't see a damn thing anyways.

This couldn't happen, he couldn't let this happen to him. He couldn't. Barry would kill him first. He'd never killed anyone before - with the exception of Farooq (but that hadn't been intentional) - but he would if he had to. Still, he felt so damn heavy. If it weren't for the invisible weight seeming to hold his limbs down, he would have been scratching and clawing to free himself.

"P-Please, it h-hurts! Stop it, _please-_ "

A pained grunt left him when the man callously pulled his fingers out.

Barry squeezed his eyes shut and the lump in his throat grew bigger when the murderer kissed the back of his neck. But then he felt something - something bigger than fingers - pressing against him from behind, and his fear-filled eyes snapped open, his chest tightening in terror.

He squirmed, desperately trying to get away, his tears falling faster now.

"...No. S-Stop. God, please. Don't, _please_ , don't-"

He heard a noise, the sound of something slicing through the air, like a frisbee being thrown.

A shout of pain made him flinch, and he heard boots crunching against rocks, before the weight on top of him was gone. The sounds that followed, grunting and a lot of cursing, was what made him realize belatedly that someone must have heard.

Scuffling, and then something - probably a head - making contact with the wall.

 _Thud._

Blood pounded in his ears, and his chest ached, what was going on?

Did that mean... was he gone?

Who had won the fight?

Tremors going through his entire body, Barry managed to somehow flip himself over onto his back, his violently trembling hands fumbling to pull his underwear and pants up, though he was so shaken he could barely think, let alone figure out how to buckle his belt again, if he even managed to find it.

What happened?

It felt like the fog was lifting from his brain, and he could see again. Not well, it was blurry and there was still dark spots dancing in front of his vision, not to mention it was nearly pitch black outside, but when he looked up he could see a shadowy figure standing over him.

Not the man.

It was too big to be him, this person was taller, shoulders broader.

Someone had...saved him?

Whoever it was crouched in front of him, and he blinked through his tears, managing to make out a face, partially obscured by the darkness of the night, but it did nothing to hide the overwhelmingly beautiful blue-grey eyes, and Barry almost wanted to cry again.

But this time in relief.

"Oliver..." He whispered hoarsely, before his head started spinning again, but this time he felt no fear. Barry just threw his shaking frame into the man's arms, openly sobbing, and didn't even try to fight the exhaustion anymore, letting the darkness overcome him.

He was _safe_.

* * *

 **Well, this was rather angsty and dark, wasn't it? But, hey, two updates in less than twelve hours. Yay! Next update will be from Ollie's POV, hope I didn't upset anyone too badly (I DID leave the warnings above every chapter), and you'll get to have more dialogue between our budding couple, and see his softer side, so stay tuned!**

 **Be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you feel about this story so far, I always appreciate the constructive criticism or tip.**


	15. Carry You Home

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Oliver Queen was _furious_.

He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been this angry about something; that type of red-haze-in-front-of-your-eyes type of anger that made you want to destroy something in order to get it out of your system. He wondered if that was what it felt like to be under Bivolo's influence.

Because he was so pissed off he could barely even think straight.

Going to see Barry had not been his plan.

Really, things were going well with him. They talked, they hung out, they texted, and he was enjoying the younger man's company more and more each time they saw one another, and yet it never felt like enough. It made him wish their home towns weren't so far apart.

Sure - the Flash could run over in a few minutes whenever the urge struck him, but it was different for the Arrow, and he hadn't actually been to Central City since their last team up to catch the "Metahuman". It was just after dinner (a late meal), and he found himself wanting to see the younger man. Next thing he knew, he had hopped on his motorcycle and was headed out of Starling.

It had only occured to after he'd arrived that Barry was probably asleep, given how late it was. Even though he'd never been to the kid's apartment, he still knew the address, and once he was actually at the door, he felt pretty stupid.

Showing up unannounced was considered rude, wasn't it? Figuring he would play it safe(ish), he called the speedster on his cell phone, and since his phone was on but he didn't hear it, he could only assume it was either on silent or Barry wasn't home. He'd knocked, but gotten no answer. That was when he felt a twinge of concern.

Deciding to call Felicity, who definitely wasn't happy about being woken up, he got her to trace his phone.

Barry was downtown, and according to the blonde, not moving, so clearly he wasn't partrolling Central or anything like that.

He'd headed that way on foot, considering the address was only a few blocks from his building, and the closer he got the more a feeling of trepidation began to fill him. It was a bad neighbourhood, and from what he could tell, there weren't any places to stop and get a bite nearby.

So why the hell was he in the area so late at night?

It had been eerily quiet, and there'd been no sight of the familiar green-eyed boy anywhere, or golden blur of lightning, and he had been about to consider that maybe Barry had merely lost his cell phone by accident and that everything was fine, after all - the kid could have crashed at Joe's, or Iris's, or even been at S.T.A.R. Labs for whatever reason.

Then he heard it.

Crying, and begging.

Without even thinking twice, Oliver ducked into the alley he'd heard the sounds come from, despite the fact that he was neither in disguise or really prepared for whatever could be going on, he had shifted into vigilante mode the second he'd heard someone in trouble.

Several things became clear as he rushed behind an old, falling apart red building that looked like it had been boarded off for quite some time now. First, it was the thick scent of blood, which he had become accustomed to at this point, and the way the air seemed thicker, it was bizarre.

He foot nudged something as he walked forward and - that had to be it - a broken chunk of red brick, splattered with a familiar crimson liquid.

That was when he saw what was actually _happening_ , and he froze briefly.

A man dressed in head-to-toe black, who couldn't have been more than a hundred and fifty pounds. He looked like a skeleton, but even so, something would have seemed _off_ about him even if Oliver had bumped into him on a crowded street one day.

The sick bastard... the piece of _shit_.

He was straddling someone, a young man, and had him pinned beneath him, on his stomach, in a large pool of what was likely his own blood, naked from the waist down. The boy was weakly struggling beneath him, sobbing, talking so fast his words were hard to understand, but the sentence was punctuated with pained cries and pleas for him to stop, and...and... he fucking _knew_ that voice.

Oliver nearly had a coronary right then and there.

It only took him a moment to figure it out, he didn't need more than to actually glance at the victim's face to recognize who it was. A pale face, streaked with tears, a messy mop of light brown hair, tangled and matted with blood, just like his clothes.

 _Barry._

Everything went a bit fuzzy after that.

Only vaguely did he recall reaching for his switchblade (well, it was Diggle's, technically), and flinging it at the man as he dashed forward, hearing him let out a sharp yell as it pierced into his shoulder, turning just in time for the archer to grab the fucker by his throat and tear him off of the young man.

He didn't look at Barry, focused entirely on the waste of human life in front of him.

Instead, he dodged the punch that the man aimed at him, getting into a brief scuffle. He didn't know much about Metahumans or whatever they were called, but he could tell this guy was one, could feel it. That was enough to stop Oliver from looking at his face, and kept him holding his breath - _just in case_.

Apparently the skinny little freak wasn't very good in a fair fight, which made the use of a brick suddenly a lot clearer, but it pissed him off. Attacking someone from behind was cowardly. It didn't take him long to beat the fucker, slamming one's head quickly against a wall tended to do the trick, and he was down for the count.

He turned around to look at Barry, and his heart constricted painfully in his chest at the sight in front of him.

The young man was sitting on the ground, breathing in quick, shallow gasps, nearly hyperventilating, his eyes wide, darting around quickly, and he was trembling so hard his body seemed to blur at times, fingernails digging into his knees. He'd managed to pull his pants back up. His skin was deathly white, something that concerned him.

Slowly, Oliver approached him, the haze starting to clear. "Barry?"

It didn't appear that he had heard him, so the older male knelt in front of him, gritting his teeth when he saw the blood all down the kid's face and neck, smeared around his mouth, on his torso... His shirt was open, and there were faded pink scar lines marring his flesh... the bastard had sliced him up, and he was in the process of healing.

He squinted, blinking and leaning forward slightly, before his eyes widened, recognition flashed across his face as all signs of fear vanished.

"Oliver," The way Barry choked out his name almost made him cringe, his voice was painful sounding, no doubt from screaming. He was about to question him on where he was hurt - since asking him if he was okay would have been idiotic - but then the younger man launched himself forward, much to his surprise, but he managed to catch him.

The boy curled up in his arms, burying his face in his mentor's warm embrace, crying hysterically, and he realized that it hadn't just been fear causing him to tremble like that; the kid was ice cold, freezing. Not that it was surprising, given the current wind chill. He may have been from California, but this year the winter in Missouri had been particularly unforgiving.

Just then, the young man went limp.

"Barry?" He pressed a couple of fingers to the younger man's neck, feeling his pulse. It was slowing down slightly now that he was passed out, but thankfully still strong and steady.

Trying to fight down the mild sensation of panic threatening to overtake him, Oliver rose to his feet, still cradling the unconscious speedster to his chest. He needed to take Barry home, to his apartment since it was close by, and warm him up.

...Remembering the man responsible for this, he scowled, resisting the urge to beat the ever loving shit out of the psycho despite him not even being awake, shifting the boy so he was supporting him with one arm, which didn't take much effort given that he was fairly light, and grabbed his cell, sending Felicity a text, telling her to call and wake up Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon to take care of him. He wasn't willing to leave Barry alone, and he doubted that CCPD was equipped to handle criminals with superpowers.

Even so, he stuck on a tracker on the slimy creep, just in case, before exiting the alley. He wasn't sure how he would explain this to everyone, but he was sure he and Barry could come up with something, since this... he doubted he would want to share it with his friends, and it wasn't Oliver's place to tell them.

* * *

Once he arrived back at Barry's building, he had to (reluctantly) dig through the kid's pockets until he found his keys.

It made him feel a little weird, but he tried not to think too much about it, unlocking the door and quickly stepped inside, pushing it shut with his elbow.

The apartment was exactly like what he had expected, and yet different than he had imagined, if that made any sense.

Barry's living room had dark wood floors, creme colored ceilings, deep red-maroon walls with a white trim, a small reddish mahogany brick fireplace, with a huge stuffed-to-the-brim bookcase in the corner, ivory-and-cream white leather furniture and a mid-sized flatscreen mounted to the wall. It connected to a little breakfast nook with old-fashioned wooden countertops and barely-used looking appliances, a single dark cherry table sitting in the center of it with two matching chairs. There was a set of glass doors that led to a tiny balcony overlooking the rest of the city.

Small, stylish, very organized - nothing he couldn't have predicted of the speedster - and though it looked lived in, it didn't feel very... _homey_. But then again, what did he know? If Oliver wasn't crashing at his sister's loft (despite her insistence that it was "theirs") then he was in the Foundry.

Ignoring the odd desire to psychoanalyze the younger man's living environment, he carried Barry further inside and gently deposited him onto the wide leather couch, heading over to light up the fireplace, before going down the hallway to find the bathroom or his bedroom.

He wasn't about to attempt to undress and bathe Barry, not after what had happened, that would likely be a bad idea, but the least he could do was clean the blood off of him and get him into some non-destroyed clothes, because despite the rapidly warming apartment, he was still shivering.

The hallway was narrow with a shutter closet at the very end, the bathroom was to the right, when he stepped inside, he noticed it was simple and clean. Pale yellow walls, a closed-in shower with frosted glass doors, a porcelain counter top, and - there, shelves.

Oliver grabbed a washcloth and wetted it with warm water, before heading back out into the living room, surprised to see the boy had curled up slightly on the couch, his shoes were on the floor - it seemed like he had instinctively kicked them off when he realized he was home.

It made him smile.

But then he shook his head, the grim feeling still hanging over him, and knelt beside his...friend? Whatever. He, tilting Barry's head, began to wipe away the now dry blood as best as he could without waking him. The kid deserved to sleep, after the night he'd had.

After washing away all the visible crimson stains, he put the cloth aside and considered what to do for a moment.

He could have just left... but that didn't seem right, either. At the very least he should wait until Barry woke up, just in case he freaked out or something - from what he'd observed, the speedster had a tendency to do that when he came to somewhere he hadn't expected.

Making up his mind, he lifted the younger man into his arms once more, heading down the hall again.

So, if the door on the right had been the bathroom, then the one on the left had to be...

Barry's bedroom.

It was slightly smaller than the living room, painted a navy blue, and had a worn dark wooden floor, the double bed had a wrought iron frame and was pushed into the far corner, black and white checkered comforter tossed aside. Compared to the rest of the apartment, it was a mess. Books were stacked all over the place, the student's desk beneath the only window was covered in papers and CCPD case files and lab equipment, the closet had boxes piled up inside of it as if he'd never had the time to unpack them.

Bizarre, but still not surprising to him.

He laid the kid down on his bed and went to the dresser to find him some clothes to wear, and if he thought digging through Barry's pockets was weird, then this made him feel downright creepy. Oliver settled for just grabbing a warm-looking sweater and some sweatpants - the same ones he'd remembered Caitlin bringing him, the one with the S.T.A.R. Labs logos on them - mostly so he wouldn't have to root through his stuff anymore.

As he turned away, he couldn't help but notice the multiple photographs in antique silver frames, of a beautiful young woman with deep brunette hair and pale green-blue eyes, he knew instantly that it had to be Nora Allen, Barry's mother. They looked so much alike.

What puzzled him, however, were the other pictures, these in light wood frames, of a familiar looking young boy, in different settings. The ones of him at a science fair with a blue ribbon weren't that unusual, the one of him in a dance class was really bizarre, though. As was the one of a teenaged Barry standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, a smirk on his face as he flashed a peach sign at whoever was holding the camera.

Barry had been to Paris?

He never knew that...

Shrugging it off, Oliver headed back to the bed, hesitating for a moment, before undressing Barry down to his boxers, trying not to look too much at him (especially the bruises that were already fading away), a bit relieved that he didn't wake up, because that would have just made things more awkward.

Once he was redressed in something less tattered, the boy didn't look nearly as cold or uncomfortable. That made him feel a bit better. Despite how close he and Barry were, he still ended up mentally scolding himself when he reached out to caress the younger man's cheek.

Now was not the time, not after the Metahuman had gone through something so traumatizing, touching him was wrong, even in an innocent way. He had to restrain himself. If the younger man wanted to be close to him, he would tell him. For now, he would just leave him be, and let him rest.

But, and though he would deny it vehemently if anyone ever happened to ask, he still took the few extra seconds to tuck the checkerboard-print blanket around the young man, before stepping out, heading back to the living room. He didn't think he would be able to sleep now if he tried, and, spotting the bookshelf once more, gave a small sigh and headed over, figuring he could kill some time by reading.

That plan went straight out the damn window as soon as he laid eyes on Barry's literature collection, however.

Because... _what the serious fuck?_

Oliver _knew_ the kid was smart, it was obvious after just having a short (usually one-sided) conversation with him, but... just what _was_ all of this? Barry had literally dozens of thick, worn out textbooks filling his shelves, on everything from Aerobiology to Zoology.

Was that how he knew that Australians apparently enjoyed hunting down kangaroos with boomerangs and eating them?

Feeling both bewildered and amused, he started reading a few of the titles of the scientific books, and they were _almost_ as confusing as the man who owned them:

 _Physics Of The Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into The World Of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation & Tim_ _e Travel_

 _Proceedings Of The Fifth Lunar Science Conference, Volume 1_

 _Proceedings Of The Fifth Lunar Science Conference, Volume 2_

 _The Principle Of Relativity_

 _Nonlinear Methods Of Spectral Analysis_

 _Lehninger's Principles Of Biochemistry_

 _Oxford University's The Particle Explosion_

 _Advances In Nuclear Science & Technology, Volume 22_

 _Electron-Molecule Collisions & Photoionization Processes_

 _Applied Chaos Theory & Paradigm For Complexity_

 _Low Temperature Physics_

 _Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life In Science (Great Discoveries)_

 _..._ He had to stop.

Just looking at the spines of the books was threatening to give him an intense migraine the likes of which he hadn't experienced since his pre-university dropout days. Had Barry seriously read each and every one of these? It seemed like some of them had more than a dozen different volumes in their collection.

That was when he noticed the bottom shelf, and bent down slightly, seeing a rather different set of books.

Unlike the authors of the ones above, he actually recognized a few of these names: Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, Maya Angelou, Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo, and Charles Darwin, and some less intellectual stuff, trashy books that were probably a guilty pleasure for most (he hadn't heard of most of their authors): Nora Roberts, John Green, Suzanne Collins, Charlaine Harris, J.K. Rowling, Mercedes Lackey, etc...

One title in particular caught his eye, and he frowned, reaching forward to tug it off of the shelf. It took some effort, considering it was absolutely _packed_. He rose an eyebrow as a conversation he'd had not long after returning from Lian Yu came to mind, when Tommy was trying to get him into the party mood.

 _"_ _As your wingman, I highly recommend Carmen Golden."_

 _"Which one is she?"_

 _"The one who looks like the chick from Twilight."_

 _"What's "Twilight"?"_

 _"Dude, you're so better off not knowing."_

Looking at the cover image of two pale hands holding out a bright red apple, which reminded him of that time his family went to Disneyland for Thea's birthday and he hit on the girl in the Snow White costume, he shrugged, stood up, book still in hand, and headed for the couch. He heard everyone talking about it, and since he didn't know where Barry kept his movie collection, this was probably good enough to waste some time until the other man woke up.

 _Why the hell not?_

* * *

 **This chapter was a little difficult to write, considering Oliver didn't really have anyone to communicate with, it was more actions than words. But I gotta say, I did have a bit of fun with describing Barry's apartment. How did you think Oliver will react when he finds out this rarely mentioned "brother" of Barry's is actually an identical twin?**

 **What do you think should happen when Barry wakes up? And yes, I actually went there, Oliver is going to read Twilight. Not to spite Tommy, but because he's bored and wonders what all the damn fuss is about. How do you think he'll feel about it?** **How do YOU feel about it? I love hearing your guys' opinions, what you did and didn't like, it keeps me motivated for the next chapter. Thanks for reading, as always!**


	16. Nightmares

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

The Twilight Saga sucked.

It really did, and that wasn't even Oliver making a joke about vampires. It was just a terrible piece of fiction by someone who couldn't write. He was no author, either, but he still thought this book was trash; the grammar was atrocious and he doubted whatever editor the woman who wrote it used was qualified for his or her position. It also seemed like the lady didn't care about her own plots; it was as though she was trying to skip through all of the boring shit to get to the romance or whatever as quickly as she could. It just felt _forced_.

Perhaps the movies were better or something? Although, if what people had told him were true, he had serious doubts about it.

Most of all, the characters were _awful_. The female protagonist was boring and whiny, and the people she went to school with seemed to be cardboard cutouts of stereotypical teenagers. The male love interest was... well, he was just a _dick_. They weren't even mildly interesting, so when he finished the first book in just a couple of hours, he was surprised he hadn't fallen asleep while reading it, though admittedly he did spend a good fifteen minutes staring at the cover of the second book like it might bite him.

Eventually, he decided to read it, because he apparently hated himself, but regretted it immensely. His patience and tolerance for literary garbage wasn't _that_ high. He felt like the second book should have come free with razor blades and fill-in-the-blanks suicide notes, because _yes_ , it was that unspeakably depressing.

Oliver had to stop reading after chapter four of New Moon.

Not just because it was horrible, which it totally was, but because a piercing scream ripped through the silence of the apartment.

Instantly, he leapt off of the couch, bolted down the hallway and threw open the bedroom door. As he was expecting to find the kid in the middle of another nightmare, like the last time they had spent the night in the same place, he was completely taken by surprise again.

What greeted him appeared to be a scene out of some low-budget cliché horror movie: The speedster was sitting upright in bed, his eyes stretched wide open with an expression of what Oliver could only define as pure terror written across his face. Tears streaming down his face, his breathing was quick, sharp breaths. He was shaking, his limbs thrashing as though he were attempting to fend off an intruder. An invisible one, though, since there was _nobody there_.

"Barry?" He approached the bed, slowly, reaching out to put a hand on the younger man's shoulder - hoping to comfort him somehow, or at the very least calm him down. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

The CSI recoiled violently, emitting an ear-piercing shriek that was sure to piss off the neighbors, and the movement was so sudden it caused him to topple backwards onto the floor, though that didn't seem to jar him from his... _episode_ , as he merely pressed himself up against the wall.

Stunned and concerned, Oliver took a step towards him, but noticed how the boy's emerald eyes seemed to instantly follow the movement, sitting rigidly in the corner, practically rocking himself back and forth.

"Kid? It's just me... what's going on? Do you see something?"

No response, it was like he hadn't even spoken, and yet Barry was staring straight at him... wasn't he?

That was when he remembered.

Barry had told him he'd had sleep problems before, after his mother's death. That he had to take medicine for it, but it caused him to sleep walk or something. Maybe he wasn't actually awake? He looked awake, _physically_ , but his mind was still trapped somewhere else...

So he had to wake him up somehow.

He walked closer, keeping quiet this time, and noticed how the kid didn't appear aware of his presence this time, his eyes merely darted around, like he was searching for something...

When he was near enough to the speedster, the archer reached out and grabbed Barry, pulling him into his arms, ignoring his screamed response, and wrapped both arms tightly around his smaller frame, keeping his arms pinned to his side as he writhed, trying to get away, sitting at the edge of his bed like that, with Barry in his lap.

That was when he spoke, "Stop! Stop it, let go of me!" His voice got smaller then, his struggles lessened, "Please, Jen, _please_ don't hurt them."

 _Jen? Them?_

What the fuck was he talking about?

Oliver wasn't sure what to do. Could he wake him like this? Should he try, or was it dangerous to? Could it hurt him? He'd read something about never waking a sleepwalker... or was that just a myth?

Either way, he still attempted to calm him.

"It's okay, Kid." He spoke softly in the boy's ear, soothingly. "I've got you, you're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you." The former CEO kept this up for awhile - he didn't know how long - but it seemed to work, because his breathing slowly evened out, and he stopped fighting.

After a while, the speedster appeared to relax in his arms, his head lolled back against the man's shoulder, and he mumbled, "...Ollie...?"

He looked down, surprised at being addressed as that by him, "Yeah, Barry. It's me."

Barry curled up in his arms, "...Tired." He muttered.

Well, that he believed, the kid looked utterly exhausted, and if that night terror thing was a regular occurrence, he couldn't blame him.

It didn't come as a surprise - was this how Barry slept every night? Having these dreams? If not, then it must have been what that bastard had almost done to him that triggered it. If the kid started getting nightmares after his mother died, and then got them again after the killer came back and attacked him...it would make sense.

But from what the younger hero had told him last time, he hadn't started taking medication for it until the year after Nora Allen's murder.

So what the hell happened to him when he was twelve?

Oliver didn't know, but he intended to find out.

"I know," He muttered, turning to carefully put him back down on the bed. When he started to stand, a familiar hand reached out and grabbed the edge of his sleeve.

He looked down.

Sleepy green eyes gazed back up at him, though it was obvious he was about ready to fall asleep again any second, "Please don't go." His voice cracked.

The sound tugged at his heartstrings, just like the last time they were in a situation like this. Barry sounded so scared and childlike, and he was afraid to be alone. If anyone had an excuse, it would be him, though. The boy had been through a shit ton more of stuff than anyone his age, certainly more than he deserved.

It was just then Oliver realized how drained he himself felt.

 _Screw it_ , he thought, before sliding in bed next to the younger man.

Not entirely to his surprise, Barry immediately snuggled up to him, draping an arm over his waist so they were pressed right against one another. Rather than push him away, the archer merely closed his eyes and relaxed, savouring the warmth and comfort having the speedster beside him brought, hearing the half-conscious Metahuman mumble under his breath, "Love you, Ollie."

 _I love you too._

Even in his mind, he no longer tried to deny it.

* * *

When Barry awoke later that day, he became aware of several things simultaneously, which was one of the perks of having an accelerated thought process.

The first, was that despite feeling unusually content, something inside of him was screaming that it wouldn't last. After that, came the realization that he neither remembered falling asleep last night, or even going back home. And last of all, he wasn't alone in his bed.

Arms were curled around his body, and he could feel warm breathing against his neck.

His eyes flew open and he sat up the moment he processed that, head snapping around to look down beside him.

Oliver.

 _Wh...what?_

In his bed, _Oliver Queen was in his bed_. But _why?_ He tried to remember, furiously thinking back, but he didn't recall inviting his...his something (what even were they at this point?) over to his apartment, and he sure as hell didn't remember going to bed with him.

He wasn't sure whether to be shocked or overjoyed.

The last thing he remembered was heading home from the hospital, and then...

"Oh my God," Barry shot out of bed, unintentionally awakening the other man in the process. His hands started to shake as he looked down at himself, almost expecting to see bruises or gashes covering him. It couldn't... it couldn't have been a dream, could it? "Did it happen?"

Glancing over at him, clearly still partially asleep, Oliver grumbled an annoyed, "What?"

"Did it really happen?" The CSI's breathing quickened, flashes of pain from last night assaulting his memory, along with the terror, the absolute feeling of helplessness and despair, knowing what was coming and being completely unable to stop it. "That man..."

"The one from last night?" he asked, sitting up and blinking around as he remembered and put together why he was sleeping in the speedster's bed in the first place.

Not the right thing to say.

But then again, it never seemed to be anyways.

"It _was_ real," The young man choked out, letting out a shaky breath as tremors starting to go through his body, "H-He...he tried...he was going to-" he cut off, hand suddenly gripping his chest, right over his heart, wincing as though he were in pain.

Oliver was awake fully at this point, having been watching Barry as he began to pace the room, seeing the expression on his face and his physical reaction to the memories of the night before, he quickly stood, recognizing the beginnings of a panic attack when he saw them.

"Barry - hey, Barry!" He rushed forward and caught the Metahuman by his upper arms, certain this time he wasn't likely to freak out at being touched.

A look of fear crossed over his features, but it was soon replaced with one of alarm, "Can't...can't breathe."

"Yes you _can_." The older man led him to sit down at his desk chair, moving so he was kneeling in front of him, and took his hands instinctively, "I'm here with you, okay? You're safe, Kid. I stopped him, and he can't get to you. I won't let him hurt you." he emphasized when Barry looked at him with desperation.

"Deep breaths, alright? In through your nose, and let it out through your mouth. Just go slow. It's okay, everything's okay."

He did as he was told, breathing a little too quickly at first, but forced himself to slow it down when Oliver squeezed his hands gently and repeated the words.

"I'm so-"

Oliver held up a hand to silence him as he stood, "Don't, Kid. Don't apologize to me, not for this, alright? I get it." That wasn't to say he knew exactly what it felt like, but he understood that type of debilitating fear, it happened a lot during his self-imposed exile on Lian Yu, and during the first few weeks when he returned home. Only for him, most of the time, he hadn't had anyone to help talk him through it.

"I remember," Barry eventually said, after regaining control over his breathing, "...You saved me, thank you." The look of sheer gratitude that the boy gave him was warming, but at the same time, he felt it was unnecessary. At this point, he was in so deep he couldn't imagine not protecting the speedster.

His feelings aside, he would have intervened had he seen that happening to _anyone_.

"Are you okay now?"

The younger man shook his head slightly, "Not...not really. But I will be." He stood up, running his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair briefly, "I think I'm going to shower..." he stopped, hesitating, "Are you-do you have to leave?" he looked almost worried.

"I can stay if you need me to," He replied instantly, after all, he had come to check up on Barry in the first place, and something told him he shouldn't be alone at the moment.

"What about Starling?" Barry asked, almost reluctantly.

"It'll be fine. Roy and Diggle can handle things for a little while. If something happens, Felicity will call."

Nodding slightly, the Metahuman seemed to relax a bit at his words, clearly relieved. "Great, I just- _wait_ , what time is it?"

Oh?

He checked, "About... 10:10."

Barry cursed under his breath, "I have work today." He was so late, Captain Singh was going to kill him! He didn't notice the strange expression on Oliver's face, because, _really?_ The kid had been up most of the night after being nearly raped and killed, woke up from some sort of nightmarish episode, and then had a panic attack, and he was thinking about _work?_

Something didn't add up.

People didn't just swing between complete and utter panicked terror about a stressful and frightening event, to being concerned about not showing up to their job unannounced like that.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can text your father." A surprised look was sent his way, and Oliver nearly groaned at his own stupidity. He meant the foster father, the one who was a cop. His real one was still in jail, of course, he knew that, but because of his and Joe's relationship, he didn't consider his phrasing.

Fortunately, Barry seemed to understand what he was saying, "R-Right, I can...can just tell him something came up last night. I rarely take sick days, although I wonder if I used them all up when I was in a coma? Maybe I should go request a few off, or-"

"Barry?" The boy looked at him, "I'll text Joe. Go take a shower, alright?"

He flushed, and nodded, before disappearing out the bedroom door, and the one to the bathroom clicked shut seconds later.

Shaking his head, Oliver sighed, feeling a wave of empathy for the kid. How the hell could one person have such shitty things happen to them? Wasn't he owed some good karma right about now? The archer headed out to the living room to grab his cell, so he could check in with S.T.A.R. Labs on if everything went over alright, but his thoughts were still more or less focused solely on Barry.

If he could help him in any way, he would.

* * *

As soon as Barry had safely locked himself in the bathroom, shower turned on, he started to cry.

He didn't want to, after everything that happened the night before, he'd felt as though he'd done enough sobbing to last him several lifetimes, but he couldn't seem to make himself stop once he had started.

It wasn't even the fear of the attack that upset him. No, that was gone the moment Oliver had rescued him. Instead, it was the aftermath of what nearly happened that had him practically in hysterics. After becoming the Flash, he'd thought he would never have to feel this way again.

Weak. Vulnerable. Helpless.

How the hell was he supposed to keep Central City safe if he couldn't even protect _himself?_

There was also the humiliation, at what that man had done to him, and what he had almost done as well. How close he'd come to...to being a rape victim.

God, how he _hated_ that word.

Victim.

He'd heard it so many times over the years.

Awful memories at the police station, overhearing his foster father and his fellow officers discussing his father when they thought he was distracted, _"Statistically speaking, 26% of all adult female murder victims are killed by their husband or boyfriend. Sudden psychotic violence like this isn't common. But, when it does happen, the kids don't usually make it out alive. Those boys are lucky."_

Lucky; another word he wasn't too fond of.

In the principal's office, after Tony or some other jock had messed him up badly, and Joe trying to cheer him up, _"It's okay to be afraid, Barry. You can cry and nobody would fault you for it. The bullies are the ones to blame, not their victims."_

Or, at the psychologist's office, when his nightmares came back and his refusal to tell anyone why left the doctor to begin making wild accusations, which turned out weren't so wild after all - not that they knew that. _"Victims of child abuse by parents are often unwilling to admit that their guardian has done any wrong. They feel the need to protect them."_

She hadn't been entirely wrong, but it had still taken everything Barry had in him to yell out that it wasn't his _father_ that had hurt him.

But none of that had been worse than what happened just before his thirteenth birthday. He never talked about it, never told anyone, but it was always there, constantly in that back of his mind - consciously, unconsciously, and hell - even _subconsciously_. It had taken a lot to keep it hidden, and aside from his tendency towards hypervigilance, he thought he'd done a pretty good job.

Occasionally, he still thought of Jen.

Sebastian was the only one that knew what happened, and that was entirely by accident, the two of them never discussed it even with each other, although he knew that his older brother still thought about it just as much as he did. He knew he felt bad about it.

It was in his eyes, whenever Barry would jump at being touched even platonically, he could see the guilt briefly flash across his twin's face, before he would turn stony and look away, pretending that they didn't both know what he was thinking about.

More than anything, that was why his brother leaving had hurt so much. Without even a proper goodbye. They kept in touch, but it wasn't the same.

At times, he wished he could just call up his older sibling and spill everything to him, but he couldn't, not without revealing his identity. But doing that would just put him in danger. As much as he wanted to tell Iris he was the Flash, part of him knew Joe was right, keeping their family in the dark was for the best.

It was hard, but at the same time, Barry had gotten quite good at keeping certain secrets over the years. Hiding his pain. What happened last night would just be something else to keep locked away with the other skeletons in his closet, no one else ever had to know.

But then he thought about Oliver, the guy who had saved him in more ways than he could count, and who he was falling even more deeply in love with every single day. Shouldn't this be something he told the archer? He saw the concern behind the man's eyes, and yes, maybe he had chalked it all up to what happened the night before, but even if that were true, Barry felt like he didn't need to hide things or keep secrets around him.

Maybe Oliver wouldn't understand how exactly he was feeling, but if Barry told him the truth, then he could at least understand the reasons behind the speedster's behavior. Why he suffered from horrific nightmares and night terrors that woke him up in the night, or his sleepwalking and sleep talking.

He trusted the older man, more than anyone else in the world at this point. And honestly? Barry was so fucking tired. Tired of being scared, of keeping this to himself, and of letting his pain eat him up inside. He knew it could drive him crazy if he continued on, and he also knew from Felicity that Oliver keeping secrets had only hurt him and isolated him all of these years.

Barry wanted to heal, and not physically - that was never a problem for him, but _emotionally_. Mentally, he wanted to feel _okay_ again, and at this point he was starting to believe that Oliver was someone who could empathize with his suffering. The Metahuman didn't know the full extent of what he had been through in his five years as a castaway, and nearly three years as a vigilante, but he'd definitely seen and experienced a special type of hell.

He could do it.

Funnily enough, the exact moment he decided not to keep his secret a _secret_ any longer, it felt like a huge weight, one which had been weighing him down for the better part of thirteen years, seemed to lift off of his shoulders, and for the first time, he seemed to be able to _breathe_ again.

The young man wanted to move on from his past... maybe the two of them could move on together?

* * *

When he finally finished his shower, Barry dried himself off half-heartedly and combed through his hair a couple of times, still rather deep in thought, and headed into his bedroom to change. He wasn't sure what to wear, especially if he and Oliver were just going to be hanging out at his apartment for the day.

Eventually, he threw on a pair of red plaid pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, before heading out into the living room.

No one else was there.

Trying to bite back the sudden panic that surged through him at the realization of being alone, his eyes quickly swept over the area, before he spotted a note on top of the coffee table; running over and snatching it up, Barry looked at it, and immediately relaxed as he took in the words.

 _Barry,_

 _I headed to my place here in Central City to get changed, but I shouldn't be gone too long. See you soon._

 _\- Oliver_

His place?

Right! The safehouse he had at the edge of town, _duh_. Barry hadn't even considered that, but it made sense for him to want to change into some fresh clothes too. After all, despite being close in height, they had a different build, and he doubted that even the clothes he owned that were too big for him would fit comfortably on Oliver.

The knowledge that the other man would be returning soon was instantly calming for the younger man.

Looking around for a moment, Barry shrugged, deciding that even if he wasn't particularly hungry at the moment, he should probably eat something. Deciding to make a late breakfast for him and Oliver, he turned on the little radio sitting atop his fridge, so he wouldn't have to stand there in the silence, and got to work.

One step at a time, he could do this.

* * *

"Do you want coffee?"

Oliver blinked at the first words that came out of the kid's mouth as he stepped back inside, more than a little surprised at what he was seeing, because... _what?_

He was standing in the kitchen, and it appeared he had been keeping busy, if the buttery, warm vanilla scent wafting throughout the apartment was any indication. Pancakes, with cinnamon. They smelled _really good_ , but he was slightly surprised to see Barry behaving so...domestically.

"I didn't know you could cook." He commented, casually, watching him.

Most of the time, whenever he saw the speedster eat, it was fast food or those little granola-looking bars that his friends made for him. Although, when he considered it, that was probably more out of convenience than anything. He knew first hand how protecting your city made it easy to forget about things like, well, eating and sleeping.

The young man glanced over at him, before looking away, "...There's a lot you don't know about me, Oliver."

Well, that statement wasn't _ominious_ at all.

He walked over to Barry, putting a hand on his shoulder, "You okay, Kid?"

Barry flinched and stepped away from him, pressing a hot cup of coffee into his hands instead, which again surprised him. The boy had seen him drink coffee once, back at CC Jitters, how many weeks ago? And he remembered how he drank it?

Seeing the puzzled look on his face, the other man reminded him, "Eidetic memory, Oliver. Doesn't just apply to things I've read. It's auditory, tactile, visual... Besides, with how little rest you seem to get, strong and non-decaf seemed the way to go."

"I could say the same for you," He told him in reply, "The sleeping part, I mean. Both times I saw you, you woke up from nightmares." Yeah, more energy _definitely_ wasn't Barry's problem. If he wasn't going off on some barely-understandable ramble, then he was zipping around like a demented hummingbird on a sugar high, not that Oliver would ever tell him that.

Sometimes it made him wonder if he had ADD, or if his speed just made it impossible to sit still.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that..." Barry muttered as he set the table, "Well, later. I don't think I'll have much of an appetite after. Plus I kinda have to ask you something." He seemed nervous all of a sudden.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at that, sitting down across from the forensicist, "Considering you went through all of this trouble..." he tried to lighten the mood, frowning when he didn't even look at him, "What is it, Barry? I'll answer it if I can."

"What are we?"

The question was out so quick that he barely heard it.

Seeing the way the archer paused, Barry fidgeted, messing around with his fork, "Look, I know you were trying to scare me away, as if it wasn't obvious, and clearly that didn't work, because you're here... And not because of what happened, you came to check up on me, right? I'm just...confused. I know how I feel about you, and after leaving you back at Starling, it never occured to me to ask, but-"

"I don't know." Oliver told him, and it was completely honest, too.

The younger man bit his lip, "I was sorta afraid you'd say that."

"Look, Barry, you said it yourself that you already know how much I care about you... and maybe my feelings do run deeper than I was originally willing to admit to either of us. But you want the truth? I've never felt like this for someone like you."

"Someone like me..." Barry murmured, "You mean...a guy, right?"

He nodded, "I always knew, but...aside from my friend, Tommy, no one else ever really did."

"I get it." The Metahuman breathed out, running his fingers through his hair, "I really do. Growing up, I was sca-" he paused, and shook his head, "No, scared doesn't even begin to cover it. I was beyond terrified. I knew my brother was...was gay, so I convinced myself I couldn't be either, despite the odds. It took a lot for me to acknowledge any of this but... I think I fixated on Iris because I wanted so badly to be something that I never could be."

The pain in his voice was hard to hear, "Barry, look, you don't have to-"

He cut Oliver off, "Please let me finish. If I don't say it now, I think I might never get it out."

"Okay..."

Barry sighed, wringing his hands together, trying to figure out how to say it. "I guess, even though it sounds stupid now, I thought that if I could...make her love me, it would somehow change what I was feeling..."

 _Nothing you say ever sounds stupid_ , Oliver thought to himself, watching the boy, wishing he could reach out and comfort him, but wondering if it would be an unwelcome gesture at this point. Judging by how Barry had reacted to just a touch on the shoulder earlier, he decided against it. He had been physical last night, but that was only because he was in shock, and scared.

He didn't want to freak the younger man out.

"...and I thought that if...if I kept chasing someone that didn't feel that way about me, I wouldn't have to confront what I already knew about myself, and what I've known all my life." Barry was blinking hard, because it was a lot more difficult to talk about than he'd thought, but it was starting to get easier. It definitely wasn't as difficult as he knew talking about what he wanted to later would be. "I think it was when you kissed me...the first time... that I finally accepted the truth." He exhaled, "So, I know how I feel, and...and I'm pretty sure I know how you feel too."

The older male blinked.

"But what I don't know is...what happens now?"

Oliver was silent for several long moments, thinking that over. Because, really, where did they go from here? He still didn't think he could just jump into another relationship, not after how badly he'd screwed up his past ones. "I'm not sure, actually. This isn't a situation I've been in before. But...maybe we could figure it out together?" He hesitated for a moment, before reaching his arm _slowly_ across the small table, putting his hand over Barry's, expecting him to flinch away.

He didn't.

The younger man looked over at him, his expression clearly surprised, but then a small smile pulled at the corners of his lips, and the vigilante couldn't help but admire how it lit up the prodigy's whole face.

"I think that could work." he whispered, before a comfortable silence fell over the room.

Breakfast went on from there, quiet, but still peaceful, and the archer was pondering over their conversation, while Barry went over in his mind how he would confess his secret to the older hero, without breaking down in front of him, or clamming up all together.

It was Oliver though, and because of that, he thought just _maybe_ he could actually do it.

* * *

 **Phew, I know, I know, this update took forever to post! But, to be, fair, I was struggling a lot with how to write the second half, and it was frustrating because I didn't want it to be shitty, because I've put so much effort into the story so far and wanted to make it good for you. The next one will be quicker, I promise. Thank you so much for your continued support!**


	17. The Confession

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Normally, when someone Oliver knew told him that they had to confess something, it was _always_ bad news.

When Barry told him he had something to tell him, however, it took everything he had to fight down his apprehension. Secrets, more often than not, were inherently bad things. After all, most of the time when someone hid something from you, it wasn't because it was good news.

His own life in the last eight or so years was a testment to that.

Trying to be calm about it initially, he'd agreed to listen to what Barry had to say - all of it - without interrupting him, but as they sat on the couch, the younger man was resting his chin on his knees, staring ahead of himself, and he'd been like that for the last ten minutes or so.

Eventually, he had to say _something_ , "Barry," the speedster blinked, and looked over at him, "If you can't do this right now, I could always come back-"

"No!" The shouted protest took him by surprise, "I mean... please stay? I just...It's not that I _can't_ do it, I was just trying to figure out _how_ to tell you..."

"How to tell me what?"

Oliver's voice was unusually soft, trying to prompt him gently, in a way that made it clear to Barry that he absolutely didn't have to say anything he wasn't ready to. He knew just how much your burdens could weigh you down if you didn't share them, but he also knew just how hard doing so could be.

"I-I think I should focus on the _why_ , first..." Barry began, slowly relaxing his posture, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the sofa's arm rest, "Oliver, I don't know if you've noticed, but... you quickly became one of my best friends, and despite the fact that we know each other really well, I haven't told you much about my past, even though you've told me a ton about yours."

Oh, he had noticed, alright.

It was impossible for him not to have. Oliver knew he had shared more about himself with the younger man in the past few weeks than he had with Felicity or Diggle in three years. Yes, they did know about Lian Yu, and they knew he had spent time off of the island in the five years away from home, but none of them really knew the details of it.

Barry did - he knew more than anyone that hadn't been directly involved. He knew about Slade Wilson and Shado, Sara Lance, he knew about his torture at the hands of Edward Fyers and Bill Wintergreen, about the training that Yao Fei had given him on the island, he knew all about Ivo and the Mirakuru (that particular subject had come up one afternoon when the kid inquired as to how he and his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs had become acquainted), which meant he also knew what went down on the _Amazo_ , and what happened afterwards when he awoke in China. Hell, Oliver telling him about the shit that happened with Amanda Waller, Chien Na Wei, the Yamashiro family, and the blackmail came down to one reason:

Barry had wondered how he was fluent in so many languages after he offhandedly mentioned that he had never actually taken anything in high school related to language aside from English Lit. He'd even told him about how he had connections in the Russian mob.

After spilling all of that, he'd expected a negative reaction from the CSI, or at least some sort of judgement for the things that his friend had done, even if a lot of it was coerced. But all he got was a grin, before asking Oliver if he could teach him some foreign language, apparently the kid had an interest in them, but he'd admitted to being so consumed with his mother's case growing up he never took the time to learn any.

Despite all of that, though, it hadn't escaped his notice that Barry shied away from talking about his own past. Or, more specifically, he avoided talking about most things between the year his mother died (age eleven), and the year he graduated high school.

Oliver had always figured that had been a dark period in the boy's lifetime, and he also knew his school situation hadn't been ideal, most kids' experienced some form of bullying, but Barry had actually told him without realizing it, and he didn't want to ask. He figured that, when he was ready, the younger man would open up, if he wanted to.

It was very rare that the vigilante was wrong, and this wasn't one of those times.

"I trust you," Barry's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "A lot more than I've ever trusted anyone outside of my family. You might not understand, but... I always feel safe when you're around." The boy's eyes were still closed, "I haven't...gotten close to anyone like that in a long time. Not since Jen-"

"You've said that name before," Oliver spoke suddenly, causing the younger man to open his eyes and look at him. He stopped, remembering that he promised not to interrupt, but the speedster didn't seem to care much, he was going at his own speed.

"Yeah. We called her that, but her name was really Ashley... Ashley Jenkins. It was just a nickname. She, um, had three other girls on her soccer team with the same name, so they had to give them all something else to go by, avoid confusion..." He let out a puff of air, fidgeting in his seat.

Oliver carefully watched his reactions.

From what very little he heard Barry talk about his teenage years, he'd always figured that this "Jen" person was an ex-girlfriend.

As much as he wanted to know what Barry was trying to tell him, if it started to seem like he was going to have a panic attack or something, he'd stop him. It was obviously difficult to talk about. "You said 'we', what did you mean by that?" he asked, slowly.

"All of us. My brother, Iris, and I... She was Joe's friend's daughter, she used to babysit the three of us..." Barry's voice was rather quiet now, "To make sure we didn't catch the house on fire. His words, not mine. My brother and Iris didn't really get along, so he didn't trust a fight not to break out."

"What happened?" The archer began to move closer, pausing when Barry's eyes quickly followed the movement, but when he didn't tense or anything, just watched him, he relaxed, moving so they were sitting side by side, with the kid curled up at the end of the couch, knees still tucked under his chin. "Did she do something to you?"

"Jen?" The older male nodded, and Barry shook his head, eyes dark, with some sort of angry humor that was unsettling to see. It reminded him of when the Flash had been under Bivolo's influence. "No, it's what she _didn't_ do that was the problem, she was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. She never hurt me..."

Oliver was about to ask what was wrong then, but the boy's next words made his blood run cold.

"...her boyfriend did."

* * *

 _"I'm going out, don't wait up!" Sebastian called behind him as he bounded down the Wests' staircase, headed for the front door, bag slung over one shoulder._

 _His path was blocked within seconds._

 _A tall, seventeen-year-old girl stood in front of the door, arms crossed. She was pretty - blonde hair, peaches and cream complexion, bright blue eyes, sporty and athletic. The twelve (almost thirteen) year old glared at her presence though, "What? I'm going over to Jason's, move it!"_

 _"Did Joe agree to let you go out at... nine thirty in the evening?" Jen asked, putting her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at the defiant preteen._

 _"Yes," Sebastian said, his expression a mask of calm, the perfect poker face. His lying abilities would have been impressive and convincing, were it not for the fact that everyone in the house knew he couldn't be trusted. "It's not like I'll be outside all night or anything, his mom said I could stay at his place."_

 _"I don't think that's a good idea..."_

 _"Why, is it because I'm gay?" The boy shot back, his voice cold enough to send a chill through the house._

 _"No one cares that you're gay, Bas!" Barry called from where he stood at the top of the staircase, telescope tucked under his arm, already in his pajamas. He was the good twin, after all. "Joe probably just doesn't think it's appropriate. You'll spend all night making out with Jason instead of actually sleeping." He teased._

 _"At least someone **wants** to make out with me." _

_Barry stuck his tongue out at his brother the moment he turned his back._

 _"Fine, you can go," Jen eventually said, much to the shock of both of them, "But only because Danny is coming over."_

 _"Ugh." Sebastian openly despised Jen's boyfriend, even more than he hated the girl herself. She didn't see it, but the guy was a snake, he could tell. There was something creepy about him, and he was always giving the older of the boys these dirty looks, causing him to suspect homophobia, hence his earlier quip to the blonde girl. "Whatever, can you get out of the way now?"_

 _Being treated like a child pissed him off. Sebastian complained frequently at being stuck at Iris's house, and when she asked him (out of earshot of Barry or her father, of course) "Well, would you rather be in foster care?", it was quick to shut him up._

 _Maybe he could take care of himself, but his brother, Barry, was a total wimp. It took a lot of effort to protect him from the bullies at school, and if they got stuck in the system, there was no telling who they'd end up with, or even if they would stay together, so Sebastian was less vocal about his complaints and tried to put up with the irritating girl that was his sibling's best friend._

 _The doorbell rang, and Jen smiled, "That must be him."_

 _Sebastian headed towards the opposite side of the house, opting to take the backdoor just to avoid Danny Douchebag, as he referred to him in secret. Anything he said in front of Jen was about to get back to the nineteen-year-old, six-foot-tall high school dropout and ex-football quarterback, and that was the last person he wanted to piss off with no witnesses around._

 _"Hey Babe," Jen greeted her boyfriend cheerfully, wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck and pecking him on the cheek, mindful still of Barry watching them from the top of the stairs._

 _She liked the kid, a lot. He was a total sweetheart, if not a little bit quirky, and didn't mind helping out with her homework when she was stumped, not to mention he promised not to tell Joe about the occasions when she would invite Danny over while the detective was working late._

 _"Ash," The young man said in response, "Where's Detective West at?" he glanced around a little warily._

 _"He left already," Barry answered, matter-of-factly, causing the former jock to look up with surprise, "Would Jen have told you to stop by so soon if he hadn't?"_

 _"...Guess not."_

 _"I'm going to the backyard to examine Saturn's rings." The boy announced, as he bounded down the steps two at a time, turning around down the corner and disappearing, the sound of a screen door swinging shut could be heard a moment later._

 _"Looks like we got the place to ourselves..." Danny grinned, and Jen smacked his arm playfully, rolling her eyes, because really? Iris may have gone to bed early, but Barry was still very much awake, she was already breaking the rules by letting him come over, she didn't want to get caught being inappropriate with her boyfriend too._

* * *

"It's sort of funny, in a twisted way, when I look back on it..." The speedster murmured, almost to himself, "None of it ever would have happened if I hadn't agreed to keep quiet about Jen sneaking him into the house when she babysat." He saw the look on Oliver's face, and quickly continued before he could protest, "It's not my fault. I knew that right from the start, I was smart enough to know what was happening, and to not blame myself..."

"When did this happen?" The archer asked, his voice and expression was calm, giving away nothing at all, but only because he was _really good_ at hiding how he felt.

In reality, he wanted to hunt down this son of a bitch and-

...He couldn't, though.

Barry trusted him, he was confiding a painful and traumatic part of his past in him (if this was going in the direction that he thought it was, at least), and he couldn't betray it by using the personal information to carry out some kind of vengence. Besides, whatever it was had happened years ago, he didn't know this Danny guy's surname, even if he did know his girlfriend - possibly ex - and even if it was enough to have Felicity track him, he knew he couldn't do it.

"2001, a few weeks before my thirteenth birthday..." Barry took in a deep breath, but the sound was shaky. "After Sebastian left, it was just the three of us awake. I went downstairs to get a snack before bed after finishing up outside. Jen was drinking something Danny brought over. I knew it was alcohol, but like always, I never said anything... I went to sleep, and..."

He stopped, swallowed thickly, and tried to start again, but his voice became stuck.

It was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

Remembering was the worst, though.

 _Hot breath on his neck, sending shives of disgust through him._

 _The thick, suffocating scent of the man's cologne, his heavy weight on top of him, holding him down._

 _Wet, warm tears rolling down his cheeks, as he turned his head into the pillow, trying not to cry out._

 _Rough hands moving over his trembling body, ignoring every whimper and flinch._

 _He wanted him yell at him to stop, tell him that it was so wrong, but the fear was choking him._

Seeing the younger man struggling, Oliver reached out and took his hand, much like he had done earlier over breakfast, and Barry seemed to slowly relax at the reassuring gesture.

"I heard footsteps on the stairs an hour or so later. My sleep problems after my mom died made it harder to doze off. I assumed it was just Jen coming to check on me, but..." Barry squeezed his eyes shut, a tremor ran through his frame, "It wasn't her. She was downstairs on the couch. I don't know if she drank too much, or if he slipped her something, or what happened, but..."

"Barry," Hearing the uncharacteristically tender tone of Oliver's voice, the younger man looked at him in surprise, his eyes were wet, and the sight was somewhat heartbreaking to the vigilante. He forced himself to ask, "...Did he rape you?"

The speedster flinched at the word, tears falling down his face.

Flashes of the recent attack by the serial killer went through his mind, and he considered how close it came to being true. The panic, the helplessness, as the Meta criminal had him pinned to the ground, his pants down, what he had planned on doing...

It made Barry feel sick.

How he was almost a...a _rape victim_.

The thought made his stomach twist nauseatingly.

When the Metahuman shook his head, Oliver wanted to be relieved - he did, because he'd known people who had gone through things like that, and how severely it could fuck someone up, physically and emotionally, how traumatizing it was, and he wanted to be glad that Barry didn't have _that_ weighing on his shoulders along with everything else he'd been through.

But he wasn't, because whatever the sick freak had done to him obviously still deeply scarred Barry on a psychological level, and it wasn't like one measurement of pain could be compared to another in that department. When someone took advantage of a child, it didn't matter exactly _what_ they did, because it was still _wrong_. He nevertheless wanted to ask the boy exactly what had happened - every detail, but he wouldn't put the kid through that. Even if he could somehow track down "Danny" and resist the urge to kill him, the statue of limitations for it were up, he knew that much.

"I-I think... I think he wanted to... He said he'd kill me if I screamed, and Sebastian, and Iris too..." Barry eventually spoke again, now tightly gripping Oliver's hand, trying not to hyperventilate. He had stayed silent, only so the man wouldn't hurt his brother and friend too. "But he never got the chance. He... he touched me, and he made me touch him..." his breathing hitched again, and at this point he just wanted to get everything out there so he could stop feeling so vulnerable and ashamed of what he was talking about. "He talked to me, called me names..."

"What kind of names?"

"Fag. Homo. Whatever." The speedster shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Sebastian was right...he was homophobic. A gay, homophobic child predator. He thought that _I_ was my _brother_ , that's why he went after me." At that, Oliver's eyes widened, mostly shocked but also very confused. "Bas never hid who he was. Sure, he never told me directly, but it was always out there, especially when he taunted people about it. Danny must have mixed us up, and God, if I thought what he did was horrible, the years following it were even _worse..._ "

Barry scrubbed his arm across his eyes, furiously wiping away the tears as they fell, "He never said it, but I think that's the real reason why he left. Not because of our parents, or because he hated Iris and Joe, but 'cause he felt guilty... Danny ruined our relationship even more than the man in the yellow did."

"I don't understand," Oliver admitted, when the boy quieted down a bit, "How did your brother know what happened if you never told anyone? And how could he mix the two of you-"

Only then did it hit him.

He remembered Barry complaining about his brother frequently. How he ran away, to his fancy private school, saying that him being so far away strained their relationship, and it had always confused him. Most siblings weren't that close, and even if they were, how could a bit of distance make things bad between them? Also, if Sebastian lived in Boston like Barry said, it wasn't really that far - why would him moving make a difference?

But then he remembered the pictures on the speedster's dresser, of a teenage boy, smirking and flashing the peace sign, very out of character for him, in front of the most prominent symbol of Paris, France. How little sense that had made when he knew for a fact that Barry didn't know the language.

"Sebastian is your twin." It was a statement, not a question.

The younger man blinked at him, giving him a weird look through his still slightly teary vision, "Yeah, I... wait, you didn't know that?" Now it was his turn to look baffled.

"I knew you had a brother, you talk about him occasionally, and I knew he was older than you, and that he left home when you were thirteen, to live with relatives, you said." Oliver answered, slowly. "I didn't know you were identical twins, though."

Barry laughed, but it was a humorless one, the type of laugh you give when you're surprised by the absurdity of a situation, "We were _both_ thirteen. He is older...by a few minutes. I guess I just figured you knew, I never had to tell anyone - it was in the news. 'Local doctor snaps and murders wife, arrest leaves behind twin sons'." He chewed his lower lip, thinking of all the headlines accusing his father.

"I told you, I didn't look _that_ deeply into your background."

"...He walked in on it."

Now Oliver was the one blinking in confusion, "What?"

"You asked how Sebastian knew what happened... he walked in on Danny molesting me." Barry cringed at the word, so did the other man. "Said he forgot his homework. I heard him on the stairs, and Jen calling after him, but he ignored her - he always did... When he saw what was happening, he lost it."

The young man drew a long, calming breath, "I'd never seen my brother so _angry_... He started hitting him, I was just in shock. Danny was too surprised to react. When Jen got to the room, I think, if she didn't know what was going on before, she figured it out... she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, telling him he had to leave because Iris would wake up. She didn't even look twice at me. I didn't see them again after that. Sebastian and I never talked about what happened that night."

"What about Joe? Or your sister? Did neither of them-"

Barry shook his head, "They never knew. Seb told them I'd had a nightmare, and that Danny got angry and stormed in because they couldn't hear the TV over me. He said that Jen made him leave when I woke up. She quit after that, I guess making up a story about how she couldn't handle my PTSD over my mom's death." He choked back a cry, letting go of Oliver's hand so he could try to wipe the tears blurring his vision. "It doesn't matter anyway, he ended up going to Iron Heights for another crime and hanging himself in his cell when I was nineteen. When I found out I was _glad_ , and that sickened me, Oliver. Good people aren't relieved when people _kill themselves_."

"It meant he couldn't hurt you again, Barry, or anyone else." Oliver told him, wanting to help the kid desperately trying to compose himself and failing at it, but not knowing how. "You have no reason to feel guilty for the choices that monster made on his own."

"I know," Barry slumped back against the couch, suddenly looking exhausted, "I guess I'm just that fucked up."

Hearing the younger hero swear was slightly surprising, considering it didn't happen often, "What happened to the girl?"

"Dead, too." The CSI leaned his head against Oliver's shoulder, also unexpected, but he didn't mind it, especially since Barry didn't even seem to be aware he had done it. "Drunk driving accident three years ago. Maybe that's why I can't let it go... No closure, no moving on." He muttered.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" The archer asked, earnestly, hating the idea of sitting there helplessly while the other boy wallowed in his own misery. "Do you want to talk about it or-"

"No more talking," Barry nearly pleaded, curling up against the older male's side, "Just...hold me. That's all I need, it always helps." He wasn't lying when he said that Oliver made him feel safe. "I should feel better soon, just...talking about it is hard." He knew he was acting oddly, especially the past little while, but hopefully now that his friend knew the whole truth, he would understand.

"...Alright," Oliver agreed, because really, at this point in time he didn't think there was anything Barry could ask him to do that he wouldn't agree to. He might not have been able to empathize with what the kid was feeling, but he knew for certain that he was in pain and physically worn down from carrying this around so long, so if there was something he could do to help, he'd do it.

Wordlessly, the former CEO wrapped his arms around Barry's slightly shaking frame, pulling him into his lap almost, and feeling a flood of concern and affection when the speedster let out a small noise that he realized was a sob, burying his face in Oliver's chest as he started to fall apart.

But, with the man he loved holding him close, trying his best to comfort him, he could feel his heart, fractured from years of pain and secrecy, starting to mend itself.

Maybe he _could_ be okay, eventually.

* * *

 **I pretty much wrote this whole chapter today. It was hard, trying to get into the right mindset, because it's not something I could ever imagine happening. Like Oliver, I could only try to understand. If Barry seems OOC in this chapter, that was mostly intentional. He's no longer afraid of breaking down in front of Ollie, because he trusts him that much, even if it still difficult to talk about.** **However, as he starts to move passed it all, he'll begin to act like his usual self. The next chapter will include more Sebastian, more Iris, and more Worried!Oliver, so if you're interested, keep your eye open, things are starting to heat up in this story.**

 **Also, I've recently finished the Arrow series, so I now have an outline of what will happen up until the end of season three (as well as Flash's season one), a basic timeline and what will happen afterwards. Which is better than just writing blind as I have been.**


	18. Fire & Ice

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

He was starting to get faster.

No one could deny that, but despite his friends' attempts to cheer him up and boost his confidence, Barry knew he wasn't _fast enough_ yet. Maybe that was why he was pushing himself so hard today, or maybe everything that happened in the last couple of weeks really had him frazzled.

Still... he _needed_ more speed, if he had any chance of catching the man in the yellow suit.

The young man was more determined than before, however, to increase his speed as much as possible before the next encounter with the murderer, because if he wanted to beat him once and for all - and he _did_ , very much so - he had to be completely focused.

But, despite his willingness to do whatever it took, he still found himself getting distracted.

Whether it be worrying about the other speedster attempting to go after Joe and Iris, or constantly thinking about Oliver, or his work at the precinct, he knew his head wasn't one hundred percent into his training, and he knew someday that would end up being a problem.

It wasn't like he could just get rid of everyone and everything in his life that could distract him though, that would be insane.

No, instead, he had to just try his best to keep his priorities straight.

Keep training, keep getting faster, that was all he could do.

For now, anyways.

* * *

Oliver had to admit, when Barry informed him that he was going out to train one afternoon with his team from S.T.A.R. Labs, he thought the kid was maybe pushing himself a bit.

Considering all that happened to him in the past few days, he really believed the younger man should just take it easy.

However, the speedster had insisted, reminding him that if he was going to catch his mother's killer, he had to first be able to keep up with him. Since he was planning to head back to Starling City that day (he'd really been gone for too long), he took him up on his offer to stick around the Ferris Air Testing Facility and watch for a bit.

So, that's where he was now, standing under the shade of the van the others had taken to get there, watching Barry outrun a flying drone-thing that Cisco had made.

Of course, they - with the exception of Caitlin - believed that he was just following a lead on a case back home, and had no idea why he'd really come to town. The bioengineer seemed to suspect something else, considering she'd pulled him aside earlier and asked how he managed to track down the Metahuman. He told a partial truth, he hadn't been looking for the guy, he'd run into him by accident and stopped him from attacking another person.

If she was suspicious that he might be holding something back, she didn't call him out on it.

He was drawn from his thoughts by the sound of her scolding her friend,

"That was too close!"

The vigilante blinked over at them, and Cisco had a grin on his face, he was obviously loving this, "He told me to make it hard."

 _But not too hard_ , Oliver thought to himself.

"Pretty sure he didn't tell you to make him _dead_." Dr. Snow responded, and he silently agreed with her. This was just practice, right? There was no need for them to push Barry too hard, especially considering he was against this idea entirely. The only reason he decided to stay was to make sure nothing bad happened.

Dr. Wells didn't appear too concerned by Cisco's overly enthusiastic behavior, but he still reminded him, "Remember, this is just supposed to be a training excercise to improve Barry's speed."

He understood the "yellow suit guy" was fast, but honestly, how fast could they make Barry go before he reached his limit? Hadn't he already broken the sound barrier before? Hell, the kid could run up the side of buildings and across the water, what did they think his limit _was_ anyways?

Just then, the microphone connected to the Flash's suit flickered on, and Barry called out, _"Cisco, you gonna bring it or what?"_

Of course Barry would encourage him.

The engineer looked to Wells, hopefully, and the wheelchair-bound man's lips twitched in amusement, "Bring it."

Oliver crossed his arms, giving the both of them a look, which they missed.

 _Seriously? What a pushover._

"Awesome!" The Mexican man hit a couple of buttons on the controller, and the drone buzzed, before releasing a... miniature heat seeking rocket.

He'd be lying if he said that the sight of it didn't put him slightly on edge.

Up ahead, Barry sped up, did a zig-zag to try and doge it, but it still ended up hitting him in the back, causing it to explode upon impact.

The archer clenched his jaw; the fact that Barry's suit was heat-resistant did nothing to comfort him.

Cisco seemed shocked that it actually got him, Caitlin looked worried, and even Wells was smiling no longer.

They waited for the smoke to clear.

When it did, Barry was on the ground, pulling himself up slowly; _too slowly,_ while the drone was still going after him, and he wanted to snap at them to shut it off so the kid could recover for a minute.

"Why isn't he running away?" Caitlin asked, nervously.

Shaking his head, the former CEO replied, "I don't know."

He really didn't.

If he seemed concerned before, Dr. Wells now looked like he would have bolted from his chair if he could, staring intensely at the young man a few miles ahead.

The drone was getting closer.

"Barry, run away."

 _Listen to her, Kid. What are you trying to prove?_

It fired off another rocket.

But, instead of dodging the thing, Barry actually starting running _towards_ it.

What the _fuck_ was he thinking?

The CSI jumped while racing forward and grabbed the rocket, turning it around mid-air so it struck the drone instead, causing it to explode in the sky, the blast clearly visible from all the way back at the S.T.A.R. Labs van.

He was grinning, and Oliver wanted to facepalm when he realized the kid was just trying to show off.

Caitlin bit her lip and glanced at Cisco, who heaved a half amused, half exasperated sigh as yet another one of his toys were destroyed.

As Barry started walking back in their direction, he was rubbing his right side, rolling his shoulder, and the older man was slightly concerned that the first explosion had actually hurt him. He didn't seem to be in pain, but he knew now that the speedster could hide what he was feeling quite well at times.

That boy was going to be the death of him.

* * *

Well, Barry really wasn't kidding when he mentioned that he was always hungry.

That kid could _eat_.

Caitlin noticed him staring at the pile of empty Big Belly Burger french fries containers, slightly open-mouthed, and chuckled, drawing his attention, "His severe hypoglycemia is a metabolic side effect of the whole super speed thing. If his glucose levels drop too low he suffers dizziness and fainting spells. Freaked us all out before Wells figured out what was going on."

"I can see why."

He'd seen Barry pass out before - multiple times now, actually, but for him to seem perfectly healthy one second and then suddenly drop where he stood, unconscious, that would have scared the living fuck out of anyone that witnessed it.

"Very impressive, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells praised as the young man stood up, stretching his arms above his head, "Your reaction to stimuli at super-speed continues to improve."

Barry didn't even smile at the compliment, instead curling his arms around himself and shaking his head, "It's still not enough."

"It will be," The man assured, putting a comforting hand on Barry's arm.

Just a light touch, and Wells didn't appear to notice the way the speedster seemed to flinch involuntarily.

But Oliver certainly did.

They needed to talk about it again, at some point, he knew that. He needed to be sure that the kid understood what his limitations were. That he could be smart enough to realize when or if something was adversely affecting him, that he could pull himself out of the field if he had a chance of not thinking clearly.

"You keep working like you are," Dr. Wells continued, sounding confident in the young forensicist, "You stay focused like you are, and you will be ready the next time your man in the yellow suit comes around."

Cisco spoke up then, "I think you mean... the _Reverse-Flash_."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What?" He pouted, "He said it, not me. And he's _right_. Yellow suit, red lightning, and evil. The reverse of Barry."

It was fitting, but ridiculous.

At least that's what Oliver thought of it, but he chose not to comment.

He was starting to realize how much these people actually cared about their codenames for their enemies and gadgets and whatnot.

"Meh," The biogeneticist seemed to mirror his thoughts, it wasn't the best name Cisco had come up with. But it was certainly better than _Ka-Boom-Boomerang._

Dr. Wells disagreed, "Actually, I kinda like it."

That was new, from what he'd seen, the man was usually quite serious.

If he approved of this silliness, he must have been pretty fond of his employees.

"All right, I'm still ready for another round." Barry interrupted all of a sudden, "How many drones do you have left?"

"Two," Cisco replied, with a big grin appearing on his face, "And, they've got lasers!"

" _No_." Wells and Caitlin both instantly replied, much to his relief.

 _Maybe they can keep Barry safe, after all._

Still, he knew if he wanted to make it back to Starling City before the sun went down, he should probably get on his way, "Actually, I think it's time I head on back home."

Barry turned to look at him, surprised, and slightly disappointed, but he appeared to cover it up quickly, making his way over to the older man as he swung a leg over his Ducati Diavel, "You know, you should really wear a helmet." The speedster told him.

He couldn't help but smile, because he understood.

They couldn't act like they had been the past couple of days in front of Team Flash, but this was Barry's way of telling him to be careful, "You're probably right," he smiled, "You can stop by anytime though, the Flash is always welcome in Starling City. Especially after what you did for Lyla, and helping stop Digger Harkness."

A breathless feeling overcame him when the young man smiled brilliantly in response, "Seeya around, Oliver."

"Bye, Barry."

Then he was off.

* * *

Barry couldn't remember a time he had felt this _guilty_.

When he first realized Captain Cold was back in Central City, it wasn't such a big deal. He had expected it sooner or later. This _was_ Leonard's turf after all, he grew up here, so of course he would have returned eventually. But he didn't think it would happen so quickly after their last confrontation.

It had freaked him out a tiny bit, if only because he wasn't sure he was ready to face him again.

Leonard Snart, despite being a thief and killer - was no ordinary criminal. He was a mastermind when it came to strategy and tactical planning, nothing ever seemed to take him by surprise - he always had a backup. Not to mention he had the Cold Gun, which just made him all the more dangerous.

Though he hadn't been training a lot lately, it would have to be enough, because he knew the man would be coming for him.

Barry had seen it in Leonard's eyes during their last meeting, he didn't care about stealing anything this time around - not really. He enjoyed the challenge of someone who wasn't just another police officer. It seemed like, with how much money he'd gotten over time from various heists, the only reason he could possibly have to still commit theft was for the adrenaline.

He had to be ready this time around, to catch him.

At least, that's what he had thought. But Dr. Wells had made a good point, that he had other priorities.

The others seemed certain that if he just ignored Snart, the guy would back off and leave him alone. After all, from what they've seen, he avoided killing unless absolutely necessary. Right now, a thief who mainly went after big game, and only after weeks of preparation, was the least of his worries compared to the Reverse-Flash.

Barry, at the time, had just wished Joe could understand that.

Not so much now, though.

Snart and his unexpected flamethrower-wielding friend (Mick Rory, that was the name Eddie had connected to the prints left at the scene) had made off with some painting worth millions of dollars in the process. Cisco's improved shields for the force had worked perfectly against the Cold Gun, but it hadn't done a thing against fire.

Two officers were in the burn unit now, critically injured, because he had been too worried to go and help them.

It was all his fault.

But Caitlin getting kidnapped?

That was all on them, and he was _not_ going to let them get away with it.

* * *

"Oh my God..."

He had only just gotten back from patrolling Starling City a few minutes ago when the sound of Felicity gasping in horror caught his attention.

Standing, he walked over to where the blonde's gaze was fixed to her computer screens, "Is something wrong, Felicity?"

"Captain Cold."

Oliver looked at her funny, "What?"

That name sounded familiar...

"A friend Tweeted a link to me with the hashtag "check this crazy shit out", it was broadcast live across Central City about an hour ago." Felicity told him, turning up the volume on her speakers before hitting _enter_.

The video began playing, and what he saw made his eyes widen in disbelief.

Leonard Snart - one of Barry's enemies who had unfortunately gotten away sometime ago - was in what appeared to be a warehouse of some kind, probably his current hideout. Behind him was an unfamiliar man, who was holding a struggling and whimpering Dr. Snow.

The thief grinned, eyes bright with mischief. _"Greeting citizens of Central City, I am Leonard Snart, but you can call me...Cold. I_ _'m gonna make this very simple for everyone. That red streak you've been hearing whispers about, the one mysteriously saving people these past few months? Well, surprise, he's real."_ Oliver stiffened when he heard that, and he heard Caitlin cry out behind him, _"No!"_

 _"He calls himself... the Flash."_ Snart chuckled quietly, _"Porter and Main, tonight, sundown. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Flash. Show the whole world you're real, or this woman dies."_

 _"No! Don't come for me!"_ Caitlin yelled, still fighting to get away, _"Stay away! Snart-"_

The video stopped there.

"I hope Barry and Cisco are alright," Felicity's voice was shaken when she spoke, obvious concern for her friends there. Of course, Caitlin was her friend too, but the four of them had quickly become the best of friends. She knew if anything happened to the bioengineer, neither of the guys would ever forgive themselves.

Oliver was too busy focusing on what the woman had been trying to say before the feed had been cut. It sounded like a warning.

They obviously intended for the Flash to rescue her.

Why else would he out his existence on television?

It had to be a trap, and that realization worried him more than he cared to admit.

* * *

 _"Barry, after tonight, everyone's going to know that the Flash exists. Are you ready for that?"_

The young man never answered Joe's question.

In part, because he didn't have an answer.

Was he ready? No, probably not. Iris had been telling "the Streak" for weeks that people needed to know he existed, that it would give Central City a reason to hope, but this wasn't how he wanted them to find out. This was a dirty trick that Snart had played.

How had he known to go after Caitlin? He couldn't be aware of his real identity - the only thing connecting him to S.T.A.R. Labs was the fact that he had been under their care while comatose, and that could have just as easily been a coincidence.

Yes, he had seen her during their confrontation after the train derailed, but he never knew her name. And even if he had, why not go after Cisco, or Dr. Wells, or anyone else that still worked there? Nothing Leonard did was ever accidental. If he had chosen Caitlin to abduct, it must have been because he suspected that there was something else between them otehr than platonic friendship.

It wasn't true, of course. But he couldn't have known that. Snart must have been desperate to do this. He knew for a fact that the man didn't _enjoy_ hurting innocents. Barry had seen it when he used the train passengers as hostages. Yes, they were just a distraction to him, but he _knew_ the Flash would be able to save them on time.

...So why did he want a rematch between them so badly?

Just as he ended his call with Joe, his phone started to ring again.

Barry checked the ID, and was surprised (though he really shouldn't have been) that it was Oliver's number.

As much as he would have liked to hear the older man's voice at this moment, if only to soothe the panic bubbling up inside of him, he didn't have the time.

 _It's a matter of priorities_ , he thought.

Right now, all that mattered was getting Caitlin back and stopping Cold.

* * *

It was exactly 8:00 when he arrived.

Sunset.

He tore through the police tape and skidded to a halt at the place where they were supposed to meet, looking around for Snart and Rory, ignoring the hushed whispers of the officers and civilians behind the barricade, and the flashing of lights. They couldn't see his face, it didn't matter.

"The Scarlet Speedster!"

Barry gritted his teeth and spun around, watching as Captain Cold and...Heatwave, as Cisco called him, approached, their respective guns in hand. Snart looked calm and collected as always, but his partner was grinning like a psychopath. The obvious contrast between the two men was a little unsettling.

"Any preference on how you'd like to die?" Cold asked, a slight edge to his voice that made the man realize with irrtation that he was being taunted, "The flame, or the frost?"

The temperature puns were getting a little old as well.

He stalked forward silently, resisting the urge to punch the subtle smirk right off of Snart's face.

"Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha." He stopped then, and flipped his gun in his hand, holding it up, "Ready when you are."

The guns both lit up as they were activated.

Barry gazed at them both, anger barely concealed, bracing himself, feeling time slow around him.

He raced between the two, zooming passed them, hearing their weapons fire off as he dodged the ensuing blasts of hot and cold, crossing their paths again, his speed generating enough force to send them both skittering backwards, a little unsteadily.

"Cover me!" Cold called out to his partner, before muttering under his breath with a smirk, "Run on this."

The thief proceeded to make some sort of ice pillar that directly blocked his path, and he ended up running through it, not having enough time to stop.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't crashed because of it. Thankfully there were plenty of cars around, and he ducked behind one for cover, gripping his arm, which now felt like it was on fire, ironically, due to the roadrash from skidding across the ground.

 _"Barry?"_ He heard Dr. Wells' concerned voice speak through the communicator in his ear, _"Barry, are you okay? You know what you have to do."_

Wincing a little, he hit the button on the side of the earpiece, and responded, _"Yeah! Get them to cross their beams and cancel their guns out, I know."_

"Mick!"

A blast of flames shot towards him, and he barely managed to get out of the way in time.

 _"Yeah, not as easy as it sounds."_ He told Wells.

Realizing they weren't going to intentionally fire at one another, obviously, Barry made the decision to scale a nearby building, causing them to aim into the sky which - admittedly - probably wasn't the best of plans, but it seemed to take them slightly off guard, at least.

He could heard Captain Singh yelling down on the ground, "We need to expand the perimeter!"

Oh, _fantastic idea_ , give them an even bigger area to fight in. That wouldn't cause mass panic in the city or result in any collateral damage.

Was the man he worked for really that...he didn't want to say stupid, but, _honestly?_

The speedster was doing a pretty good job of dodging their blasts, at least until he got back on the ground, because Snart managed to hit him with the Cold Gun at point blank range, and he barely managed to hold back a scream. The ice was so cold it actually burned, and no matter how many times he got frostbitten, he knew it would still hurt like a bitch.

He was trying to pick himself up, but the gun was his weakness, and it had definitely slowed him down.

Barry looked up just in time to see Rory and Snart both aiming their guns directly at him, he couldn't get out of the way in time. But, just before the impact hit, a huge shield blocked his vision.

Eddie Thawne was crouching by his side, covering him.

Despite his shock at the situation, the CSI felt immensely grateful. He knew Eddie didn't particularly like the Flash, but he was still a good person, and he was trying to help.

"Hold on, Kid," the blonde man gritted out, waiting it out, "Go!"

Just before the shield could be completely melted by the Heat Gun, Barry grabbed the detective and pushed him up against a nearby wall, maybe a little harder than necessary. But just because his suit was fireproof, it didn't mean _Eddie's_ uniform was.

As soon as the man was safely away, Barry tapped his earpiece again, "I can't get them to cross streams," he panted, "Speed isn't getting it done."

 _"You're right."_ Dr. Wells agreed with him, _"Maybe the way to do this is not by going faster..."_

The younger man realized what he was saying, "It's by going _slower_."

 _"Yes."_

"Okay," Barry took a deep breath, and then started walking towards the two supervillains at a normal pace.

But as they began to fire at him, he sped just enough that they could still see him, and ran between Cold and Heatwave, causing them both to hit him at once.

It was excruciating.

The feeling of being burned and frozen at the same time, it was an unbearable sort of pain, but he still managed to withstand it somehow. It wasn't like getting electrocuted - though that had also been agonizing in its own way. This was just a different type of sensation. His body was on fire in two different ways. He knew ice was cold enough to burn at times, but he'd really been hoping it would just cause numbness.

No such luck. Captain Cold's gun wasn't really spouting out ice like its name would suggest, rather it was more like liquid nitrogen. It could freeze you to death if fired at the right intensity and angle, despite it looking like it was shooting out blue flames, it was actually more like instant cryogenesis.

Except for him, Cold was clearly not trying to kill him immediately, the bastard was having too much fun to end the game so soon.

He could hear Rory laughing manically, while Snart just had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Until the speedster took off, that is.

Barry's movement was so sudden that neither man realized what was happening until it was too late, and they were firing directly at one another's gun, causing both to destabilize and cancel each other out. The resulting explosive force sent the two flying backwards onto the sidewalks.

The crunching sound of them hitting the ground made him wince slightly.

Mick was practically unconscious from the impact, but Leonard seemed to shake off the pain and starting crawling for his gun.

So not happening.

Barry was in front of him in an instant, putting his foot down (quite literally) on the Cold Gun, and Snart rolled over onto his back, looking up at the man clad in scarlet leather, and _laughed_.

"I didn't see that coming," he admitted, a small and impressed grin on his face, not looking at all perturbed by his defeat. He groaned, and - okay, maybe the blast had hurt him more than he was letting on, but Barry refused to feel sympathy for the thief who had kidnapped his friend, he brought it on himself. "I guess you win this time."

"There won't be a next time," The young man replied firmly, still staring down at him.

Cold snickered, "We'll see, Kid." He said, before sighing, laying back against the ground as the cops began to surround them, clearly choosing to just go with it. That blast had taken a lot out of him.

Glancing to the side, he saw Eddie standing there, and had to smile.

"Thank you, Detective." Barry told him, vibrating his vocal chords so the man wouldn't recognize the sound of his voice, considering they did work in the same building.

He zipped away after that, heading back to S.T.A.R. Labs to see if Caitlin was back safely...

...and also to get his injuries checked out.

* * *

When Barry arrived at his apartment complex, he couldn't help but be relieved.

It had been a long couple of days, and he was exhausted.

Despite that, though, he still stuck around the Labs long enough to see Caitlin (she had hugged and thanked him profusely - apologizing when he winced at the grip, and offered to bandage him up), he was glad she was okay, if not a bit shaken up from the whole ordeal.

He wasn't too badly injured. The burns, roadrash and frostbite on his arms and torso were already healing themselves, but seeing the obvious pain he was in while getting treated, the bioengineer had mentioned offhandedly that she was working on his whole "immunity to alcohol, caffeine and medication thing". She said, affectionately, that if he was going to continue doing stupid things while saving the city, he was going to need some form of anesthetic that could work on him for the many injuries he was bound to get.

If it was anything like her "500 proof" that she'd come up with, he doubted it would be successful, but knowing Caitlin, she wouldn't give up easily.

Snart and Rory were on their way to Iron Heights, so all and all, not a bad day, even if they had yet to recover the stolen painting...

His good mood was washed away the instant he noticed that his door was slightly ajar, and he was immediately on high alert.

Someone was inside of his apartment.

Debating on what would be smarter - calling the cops or dealing with whatever it was himself - he stood outside for a moment, uncertainly, before deciding that if it was a burgler or something, he could probably handle it. A part of him considered that it might have been Oliver, but then again, he likely would have just used a window, or...called first.

Bracing himself, Barry inched forward and slowly pushed the door open, peeking inside.

What he saw upset him more than he cared to admit.

"Sebastian?" he asked as he stepped inside, "What the hell are you doing here?"

 _And why do you keep breaking into my apartment?,_ Barry added silently.

His twin was laying on the couch, casual as can be as though he lived there, and smiled in a way that wasn't really a smile, the one that always meant he was screwed, he sat up, "Good to see you back in one piece," then he narrowed his eyes at him, "...did you have fun playing Usain Bolt meets Marvel Comics, little brother? Or should I say _Flash?_ "

Yeah, he was definitely fucked.

* * *

 **Well, that's not how I planned for this chapter to go. But plans change, right? Are you curious about Sebastian's little surprise visit at the end there? If you want to know what it's all about, keep following along. Next chapter is going to be an emotional one!**


	19. Brothers & Sisters

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Barry wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there.

It could have been minutes or hours. He was staring at his older brother, mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief. Because _how?_ How was it possible that Sebastian knew his secret? It couldn't be that he had just guessed. Even if someone did manage to put together that the Flash had begun appearing a little over ten months after the particle accelerator malfunctioned, and even if they realized that was around the same time he woke up, it wasn't _possible_ for him to have just figured it out on his own.

Sebastian may have been a genius in his own way, but the two of them barely even kept in touch. He knew for a fact that his twin didn't watch the news because, according to him, it was "Goddamn depressing". If he was just kidding around to see a reaction, he'd certainly gotten one.

The younger of the two wanted to deny it. Laugh it off, or shoot back an equally smartass comment to his sibling, but he couldn't. He could never lie to his brother when they were face to face like this, certainly not when Sebastian was looking at him like _that_.

Eyebrow raised, arms crossed, gaze as piercing and analytical as ever.

Instead of trying to come up with an excuse or a cover up, Barry only just managed to breathe out, "...How?"

"I'm psychic." Sebastian said, before a smirk pulled at the corners of his lips.

Right, _of course_ he would treat this whole thing as a joke.

"You mean you're full of crap," The speedster blurted out before he could help himself, closing the door and leaning against it, "Tell me the truth, Bas. Not even my neighbors have figured it out." Which was kind of odd. As he had told Joe just the other day, him constantly zooming in and out at all hours of the night really should have drawn suspicion at some point, but maybe he had been lucky that way?

Had he accidentally left a Skype window open without realizing it and his brother had seen him zip off or something?

"I just knew, Barry." His brother was no longer smiling, his face had become quite serious, actually, which was kind of worrisome, considering the older of the Allen twins rarely took anything in his life seriously. He was mostly fun and games, teasing, and smartass remarks.

"That doesn't make any sense, Bas." The younger of the two said as he made his way further into the apartment, moving to sit down on the couch.

Surprisingly enough, Sebastian joined him, so they were facing one another, sitting cross-legged, their positions mimicking each other perfectly. It wasn't intentional (although, they did actually do it on purpose as children to freak people out), mirroring one another seemed to come naturally to them even after all this time.

His brother was silent for a few moments, before sighing, "Alright, I'm not going to sugarcoat this shit. Barry, when you were struck by lightning, I was at the precinct." The confused that had been on the younger man's face froze in place, and he seemed stunned.

"You were... what? _Why?_ Oh my God, are you alright?"

There went the freakout.

Honestly, Sebastian wasn't too surprised. His brother could be easily stressed out at times. Especially if people had told him the extent of the damage done to the Central City Police Station by everything that had happened that night. It was pretty much destroyed after.

"B, I'm _fine_." He emphasized, "Just relax, alright?" Barry nodded.

"Okay, so I was heading up to see you when it hit and knocked the power out. I came to on the floor, something made me lose consciousness - they're still not sure. I just had a concussion, no biggie. After hanging around for a bit, checking on you and catching up with other people, I decided to head back to Boston. Everything was as it usually is, until I started getting these really intense, recurring headaches..."

"Headaches?" Barry's nose scrunched up in confusion, worry written across his face, "Were they related to your injury?"

Sebastian shook his head, "Not as far as anyone could tell. Scans came back normal. i was beginning to think it was all just psychosomatic, until one day..." He shrugged, "I started getting these feelings."

"What kind of feelings?"

"Trepidation. Intuition. Whatever you want to call it. Out of the blue I would just... _know_ things - things I wasn't supposed to. I'd just suddenly get this information in my head without any idea of where it came from or why. The strangest part though, was that everything my brain seemed to be telling me happened."

His younger brother was eyeing him warily, and the older twin really couldn't blame him, he knew it sounded weird.

To be honest, he had been getting this feeling that something awful involving his brother was going to happen, it had persisted for weeks, actually. Until one day he suddenly knew that Barry was going to need him, and soon. That was when he purchased a plane ticket for the next flight to Central City.

He didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew it wouldn't be good.

"I know, it seemed insane, but it's true. A few months ago I decided not to take the bus, and walked instead. Later I found out the same one I would have taken had been hijacked by some psycho gunman..." Sebastian took a deep breath, "Last summer, my friend Sharon told me she was going on a date with a guy she met at the club the night before, and something told me it was a horrible idea. She wouldn't listen to my advice though, and they went. Two of them got into a head-on collision with another vehicle and both of them died on impact."

Barry looked shocked and horrified at hearing that, "Bas..." he trailed off, not really knowing how to respond.

"Don't," He held up his hand, "It wasn't your fault, B. Even I didn't know what was going to happen to them, I just knew that _something_ would. But all of these things happened, and all of them not more than a day or so after I got this feeling. It didn't seem coincidental. That's when I thought about the headaches, and remembered they happened after you went into a coma. I did some research, and the rest sort of pieced together pretty easily."

"So, that's how you knew my identity." The forensicist asked, slowly, trying to process everything he'd just been told.

His brother wasn't lying, he _was_ a psychic.

Fuck, could his life get any more _weird?_

"Yeah, and believe me, it's not the first time I've been tempted to just hop on a plane and fly over here. You've been getting into some serious shit, Barry." Sebastian got that narrow-eyed piercing look again, "Armed robbers? Gunmen? Terrorists _and_ serial killers, are you out of your damn mind?"

This wasn't his usual anger.

His expression held no malice, the gaze he was giving Barry was more of concern than anything.

"Possibly," The CSI replied, meekly, "But, hey, _someone_ had to do it. I sort of think it was meant to be, don't you?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes, not believing that for a second. To him, if something seemed too good to be true; it probably was, and if something appeared to be a coincidence; it definitely wasn't. So if his little brother thought that it was honestly destiny that caused this to happen - chances are there was something a lot more nefarious going on.

But he decided not to share that with him just yet, at least not until he had a solid idea of what the hell was actually going on in the city first.

Instead, he gave the younger man a sly grin and said, "You mean like you and Oliver Queen?" He enjoyed the open-mouthed look on Barry's face, but continued to tease him a little more, because it was fun, "Have you guys fucked yet, or is he scared that your static will be a bit too much to handle? Because a little pain _can_ be fun sometimes..."

The speedster's eyes went wide, and his face flushed about a hundred shades of red. He had trouble speaking for a moment. "...You are unbelievable!"

Sebastian smirked, he had missed his little brother, "You really thought I didn't know that you were gay, Barry? I understand why you kept it a secret. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I mean, according to a '90s study done by two guys from Northwestern University and the Boston University School of Medicine there's roughly a 52% chance that if one out of a set of identical twins is gay, both are. I just wish you had told me."

"I couldn't even admit it to _myself_ , Bas." Barry looked away, and sighed. He didn't want to talk about this, not now. He and Oliver weren't even together anyways.

He twin blnked when the older male put a hand on his knee, "It's okay, B. I get it, really, I do. Besides, now that you're not so far in the closet you're having tea in Narnia, maybe we can go out clubbing or something, get ourselves a double date." He slowly grinned.

Barry shook his head, but there was a smile on his face. Maybe his brother knowing his identity wouldn't be such a bad thing. Teasing aside, it felt nice knowing there was someone in his family who he didn't need to lie anymore.

Plus, he'd missed them hanging out together.

* * *

He'd just finished dropping off a petty thief at the police station when Captain Lance stepped outside.

"Merry Christmas," The Arrow told him. Well, technically Christmas had been a little over a week ago, but still... never too late to get someone a present, was it?

Yet people thought he had no sense of humor.

Quentin glanced at the bound criminal, before turning to face Oliver, "Well, now I feel bad. I didn't get you anything." He said dryly, but seemed to be in an overall upbeat mood. Probably from the office party they were having inside - he could hear the music.

"You keep the city safe." The archer replied simply, watching him.

A hint of a smile touched the man's lips, "So do you," he pointed out, before moving to pull the thief to his feet, "You know, these days, you're the closest thing to a partner I've got."

If that didn't make him feel like shit, he honestly didn't know what would.

Oliver had unintentionally nearly gotten his daughter killed twice, and hurt his other daughter in countless other ways. And now that Sara _was_ gone for good, he couldn't even 'fess up and tell Lance about it. Not only that, but he was protecting Malcolm Merlyn - the guy who had gotten hundreds of people killed with his earthquake machine, and gotten his other daughter's ex-boyfriend killed (who also happened to be his son) - even though the guy may or may not have had something to do with The Canary's murder.

Some partner he was.

He'd zoned out a bit, and didn't realize Lance had gone back inside until he heard him wish the vigilante a belated happy holiday.

Unfolding his bow, Oliver started to head out of the alley so he could grapple his way back to the Foundry, when the very faint sound of a footstep caught his attention.

Click.

He ducked just in time to avoid the arrow fired at him.

Turning around, the archer sent one back at his attacker - only for it to bounce of their armor. The guy was in head to toe black with a veil covering his face, and Oliver glared at him in confusion and anger, "...Merlyn?"

When several other ninjas dropped to the ground on climbing ropes made of thick black material that was tied together, he knew it wasn't actually Malcolm. It was the League. They came in packs, like wolves, so though it was no surprise when he was quickly surrounded, he still fought back.

At least until they disarmed him and had him bound with steel cords.

The assassin that approached him was wearing a strange gold mask to cover his face, it almost looked ceremonial, but he didn't get a very long look at it before a precise blow to the head made everything go black.

* * *

When Oliver came to, he was immediately aware of the fact that he was being dragged.

It was cold and damp, and dimly lit, but he could recognize a warehouse by now when he saw one, and as he was dropped to his knees before Nyssa Al Ghul, it only confirmed that they must have been using this abandoned building as their cave while they were in Starling City.

"Nyssa..." He slowly and unsteadily got to his feet, staring at the Demon's Heir, "What is this...? We agreed-!"

The man knew better than to ask, because of course he knew exactly what this was about, but he still questioned her anyway. He'd been hoping he would have more time to find Sara's true killer before they would return to cause more disruption.

"Nothing," The beautiful, frigid woman before him stated. "My father merely decided to give you time to bring Sara's killer to justice, and you failed."

Her statement made his blood boil, despite the fact that it was completely true.

"We are doing everything that we can!"

"You've been distracted protecting the city." She told him coldly, "And you have exhausted my father's patience."

Clenching his teeth, he managed to tell her, "Sara's murder is not our top priority."

Especially not when there was several others were being committed every day.

The city needed him more.

"It should be." Nyssa turned her back on him, which probably would have been a stupid idea had she not brought a couple dozen trained mercenaries with her, "In civilizations past, when someone in a vilage was murdered, the League would come and kill fifty people a day until the true criminal was rooted out." She gave him a moment to let that sink in, and when it did, so did his heart along with it.

Jesus Christ, she couldn't be _serious_.

But he still knew it was the truth that she spoke. The League had no morals, no problem with killing hundreds or possibly thousands of faultless people just to find a single individual.

Once more, she was facing him, her dark eyes were unreadable as she spoke, "Find and deliver the one who killed Ta-er Al-Sahfer. You have 48 hours, or the citizens of Starling will see what the the League of Assassins is capable of."

No, he couldn't let that happen, this city had suffered too much already.

"You're going to _slaughter_ innocent people?"

Nyssa looked off to the man beside her, "The cleansing of Starling City will fall to Sarab."

It was the one who had knocked him unconscious; he removed his mask, and Oliver stared at him in disbelief.

"...Maseo?"

He hadnt't seen him in so long... what the _hell_ was he doing with the League of Assassins?

The man had zero emotion on his face, "Maseo is no more. As she said, I am Sarab."

Ra's Al Ghul's daughter didn't seem to be aware that they knew each other, because there was a brief pause before she spoke again, evidently it didn't matter to her either way, "Deliver Sara's killer or blood will flow in your streets."

Her words sickened him, the idea of what she and her League were planning to do was despicable, and yet he knew he couldn't stop them. If Sara were alive, she would have never let her former lover go through with this. But then again, her murder was the reason this was happening in the first place.

Nyssa turned and began to walk away, until he shouted after her, "This isn't what Sara would want!"

She spun around and glared at him, showing true emotion for the first time since their conversation had begun, "Sara is _dead_. It's time you remember that."

Like he could ever forget.

As far as he was concerned, Sara Lance had died when the Queen's Gambit went down eight years ago, along with the old Oliver Queen, when he was twenty two years old. He was the Arrow now, and she had been the Canary. But after having her die on him three times (four if you counted her drinking the poison), he felt almost numb when he thought about her now.

Clearly, Nyssa had accepted her death, but was still in rage over it.

It still didn't matter to Oliver how much closure she was looking to get, she was still planning on murdering civilians.

He had to find her killer, he couldn't bear to let Starling suffer the consequences.

* * *

Oliver had never wanted Malcolm Merlyn dead more than he did right now.

He knew the man was selfish, unstable, conniving and manipulative, but he never thought that he would be capable of this. He hadn't wanted to believe that his own sister had murdered Thea. Not even the DNA and the video of her shooting Sara three times in the chest had been enough to make him think it was true.

If Metahumans or whatever Barry called them existed, and a serum that gave you super strength did too, then what was to stop someone from taking on the appearance of someone else? It occurred to him that someone could have possibly brainwashed Thea into doing what they wanted her to...

But not once did it cross his mind that Malcolm would drug his own daughter with Vitura in order to make her susceptible to suggestion. He knew of the plan, of course, and that it grew in South America, but he hadn't thought even someone like him would be that cold.

Not when he seemed genuinely remorseful for accidentally killing his own son. He seemed to, in his own way, have Thea's best interests at heart. But Oliver was wrong. He didn't care for anyone but himself.

He knew the League would kill her and Malcolm both when they saw the video. Merlyn had backed him into a corner where the only options were to go and lie to Ra's Al Ghul and try to defeat him at his own game, or let his sister die for something that wasn't even her fault.

The bastard had done all of it in order to get his own blood debt cleared.

Diggle was right, they did need a contingency plan, but he didn't have one.

So what was he supposed to do?

There was only one option. Even if they did believe that he had killed Sara himself, could he really beat the Demon himself? He didn't like his odds.

But he still had to do it, he wouldn't lose Thea too.

She was the only family Oliver had left.

He knew there was a good chance he wouldn't survive his duel with Ra's, but that didn't matter - he would go, and he would do his best to defeat him. Still, despite telling his team that he was confident in his ability, he still said goodbye to the three of them, and his sister. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't a final goodbye, he would see them all again, when he knew Starling was safe and the League would not return to California.

Oliver considered calling Barry, but in the end decided against it. They weren't together, he had to remind himself. If he told the speedster what he was going to do, he knew in an instant that the younger man would either try to talk him out of it, or follow him to the mountain; and the kid was fast, but even with his speed he would be no match for Ra's and Maseo both, he was still untrained in fighting. The thought of him fighting against skilled assassins disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.

No, he would keep this to himself, and tell Barry after he returned from making sure his sister was safe. Then he could work on sorting out his feelings for Barry _and_ Felicity.

He _would_ make it back.

* * *

It wasn't until a week after his brother arrived in Central City that a question popped into Barry's mind.

While he wasn't working as the Flash, Barry was putting all his effort into his job at CCPD. He thought he was doing well, especially considering Captain Singh had yet to lose his patience with him this week, and even smiled and put his hand on the forensicist's shoulder when an analysis came back from his mass-spectrometer was the key that helped the police track down a man who had committed a double homicide using deadly chemicals as his murder weapon.

It had been strange, since he wasn't aware his boss was capable of being in a good mood.

Meanwhile, he was learning more about his brother and his life in Boston. He'd recently finished up his residency with Harvard Medical's Department of Psychiatry. The next step for him would be to get his license, and then decide if he wanted to join a practice or go on to fellowship and become certified in a sub-specialty. He had yet to make up his mind.

Barry didn't worry about Sebastian finding a job. He was smart, and because of that fantastic French high school program to start university-level courses early, he was only in his mid twenties instead of his early thirties like most people in his field were by the time they finished school.

He knew why Bas had chosen to pursue a career in psychiatry. He wanted to know what made people tick. Even before their mother had died, he was very good at analyzing other people, and after spending some time messing around in the UK, he had openly told his brother that compared to other countries, America's mental health system was terrible, and he wanted to be one of the people to help fix that.

While there was undoubtedly more to it than that, that was his basic reasoning for pursuing it instead of, say, the arts, which he had wanted to when he was much younger.

Still, considering how busy his brother always was, it made him wonder...

"Hey, Bas?" He asked, making Sebastian look away from the sappy romantic comedy that was on TV. Neither of them were really paying that much attention to it, it was just background background noise while they talked, "Yeah, what's up?'

"Why did you come to Central City?" Seeing his brother tense and look at him strangely, Barry quickly added, "Not that I'm not happy that you decided to visit, because I really am, we don't see each other nearly enough. But why _now?_ It just seemed like, a few days ago when you told me about your...gift, like you were working your way up to telling me something, that's all."

No answer.

When he spoke again, his tone was hesitant, "Bas? Did you... have one of those "feelings" about me?"

Sebastian was silent for a moment, "You have a message."

"What-"

Just then his phone beeped as he got a new message, from Felicity. Barry slowly looked up from his cell to stare at his brother, a little disturbed, before checking her text. He had sent her one a couple of days ago, asking what was new and suggesting they all went for coffee or dinner sometime. And by they, he meant both of their teams (he made sure to emphasize that). He sort of missed them, even Lyla, who he didn't know all that well.

What her response told him, though, was that something was very wrong, and judging by the look on his brother's face, he knew it.

 _"We need to talk." - Felicity_

* * *

 **Terrible place to end it, I know, but I didn't want to make this chapter too long, since I plan for the next one to be. I'm going to take a vote, though. Option A) The next chapter is from Oliver's POV - including his return to Starling and seeing/hearing about everyone's reactions to his "death" (including him and finally meeting Sebastian and finding out how Barry took the news), or Option B) Barry's reaction to Felicity telling him about Malcolm Merlyn, and what he does in the following weeks after finding out. I, personally, like Option A because I've been wanting Ollie to meet Bas for awhile, and I'd probably throw in a bit of Barry angst as well while his brother comforts him, but I wanted to get my readers opinions as well.**

 **Be sure to review/let me know!**


	20. Cold Comfort

**Arrow's Flashpoint**

 **Summary** : When Barry Allen learned that his crush, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, and his hero, the Starling Vigilante, were one in the same, it turned his whole world upside down. The accident that made him the impossible also allowed him to get closer to the Arrow than he ever dreamed. But Oliver didn't know how the kid had managed to weasel his way into his heart; until it was too late.

 **Pairing** : Oliver Queen X Barry Allen (aka Flarrow). Mentions of past relationships and crushes will occur, including; Linda, Sandra, Iris, Felicity, Shado, Helena, Isabel, Laurel, Becky, Sara, Nyssa, OC, etc... Aside from that, pairings are canon.

 **Warnings** : Action, Adventure, Alcohol, Amnesia, Angst, Assault (Physical), AU-ish, Bisexuality, Black Comedy, Bullying (Mentioned), Character Deaths (Minor Canon & OC), Child Abuse (Mentioned/Implied), Crime, Dark Themes, Depression (Mentioned), Drama, Drugs, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Homosexuality, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inappropriate Humor, Language, Lemons, Love, Medical Babble, Mixed Fandoms, Murder, Non-Beta'd, Non-Canon Pairing, Possible OOCness, Psychiatric Talk, Religious Talk, Romance, Science Babble, Self Harm (Implied), Sexual Abuse (Mentioned), Sexual Themes, Slash, Song Lyrics, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts (Implied/Mentioned), Superpowers, Time Travel, Twins, Violence, etc.

 **Point Of View** : 3rd Person POV, past tense, story form, italicized thoughts/flashbacks/dreams. The main focus will either be on Oliver or Barry, depending on the scene. If they're both in the same scene, chances are it'll alternate between the two of them.

* * *

Sebastian was _exhausted_.

He would never tell his brother that, of course, Barry was going through enough shit as it was, but he was completely worn out, physically and emotionally. It had been just over three weeks since the CSI got the news from Felicity. The younger man wouldn't even say what had happened at first, but the fact that he was crying told Sebastian all he needed to; _it_ had happened.

Whatever he had been waiting for.

The sensation of foreboding that led him to come to Central City in the first place finally lifted, and was replaced with confusion and concern for his little brother. He had clammed up for two days before Sebastian finally managed to convince Barry to tell him what had happened.

When he found out, he was beyond furious with Oliver Queen, for causing his sibling to suffer, and when he got the full story from Felicity? He wanted to track down this Merlyn guy and punch his fucking lights out.

But he couldn't: Barry needed him.

The past couple of weeks had been hell, but he suffered through it, because his younger brother was in _pain_ and God knows what he would do if he was left to his own devices. Considering he was going to be a psychiatrist, Sebastian paid very close attention to the psychological and emotional behavior the CSI was displaying, and what he noticed was worrying.

His baby brother wasn't sleeping most of the time - certainly not _well._ At first he couldn't get to sleep at all, so he would come out of his room and they'd just sit on the couch and watch movies or something together, sometimes in silence, but other times they would talk. He avoided any and all painful subjects - Oliver, their parents, etc.

Eventually Sebastian would end up crashing, usually around three or four, and wake up to the sound of Barry having some kind of nightmare. It was different (in its own horrific way) every time. He ended up doing what he did when they were kids, wrapping his arms around the younger man and just holding him while they slept.

It was kind of sad that, in a way, this was the closest they'd been since they were teenagers.

Doing all of this was honestly okay. Sebastian didn't complain even once, or argue with any of the ridiculous things his brother did - even when Barry insisted on going to work when his face was ashen, with dark rings circling under his eyes.

However, when his brother suddenly fainted while he was getting ready to leave one morning? That was when the older man realized he needed help.

He didn't know what else to do, so he called S.T.A.R. Labs.

Convincing them that he'd managed to guess Barry's identity hadn't been too difficult, because in a way, he had. Plus, they were twins, he simply said that the younger of the two had never been able to keep things from him, and they'd accepted it right away.

He didn't plan on revealing his own "ability" any time soon, because he knew the damn scientists would want to do tests and other bullshit, and he wanted their focus to be on his brother only.

Dr. Snow ended up doing some tests on his brother while he was unconscious, and the results of them had pissed off _everyone_ , especially Joe and Dr. Wells, the latter of whom he'd only met once or twice before. They demanded to know if Barry had been eating, and when he thought back on it, Sebastian was pretty sure he'd only seen him actually eat a couple of times. He'd either say he wasn't hungry, or that he'd grab something on the way to the precinct.

It wasn't until they told him about Barry's accelerated metabolism issues that it clicked, and Sebastian felt angry, too. Not just at Barry, although he definitely had a few choice words for the kid about that, but at himself. He'd been so worried about his brother's mental health and his lack of sleep he hadn't even noticed that he was barely eating. He'd lost several pounds in the span of two weeks, and judging by his dangerously low glucose levels it was a shock he hadn't passed out sooner than he did.

Barry's excuses when he woke up were bullshit.

As bad as he might have felt about what his brother was going through, it didn't stop Sebastian from agreeing with Caitlin and the others (they'd pretty much ganged up on him): he _needed_ to start eating properly again. The younger man had tried to get Cisco on his side, but even the normally jovial engineer was completely serious about this, and he made it very clear that if he wouldn't take care of himself, he would no longer be allowed to use his "Flash suit".

It was hearing that and the threat of being held down and force fed if he didn't agree, that finally made Barry comply.

He might have been stubborn as fuck, but there was no doubt about it that he cared too much about the people of Central City to not help them when they needed it.

But Sebastian had enough experience of putting on a brave face that he knew when someone was lying about how they felt, and he knew his brother well enough to see that instead of actually getting (emotionally) better, he was just covering it up.

That theory was confirmed when he called Barry out about it, and the other man had responded by getting belligerent and angry, snapping at him, _"You're not MY shrink, Bas, so quit acting like it!",_ and storming off.

After that, they fell into a sort of uncomfortable silence, not really speaking for most of the day.

When the night came though, Sebastian had jerked awake to the sound of his twin crying out in his sleep, and ran to his room, as he had every evening since the "intervention" when Barry began to refuse to let him help, and would grab him, ignoring his protests, and hold him until he calmed down, just like he did after their mother died.

Barry might have been mad with him now, because they were both stubborn little shits, but his brother didn't deserve to be going through this alone. He wouldn't let that happen.

However, now he was honestly beginning to wonder what he would do when he eventually ran out of fuel.

At this point, Sebastian was afraid that when he did have to go back to Boston, that Barry wouldn't be able to make it on his own. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly fair, he still had his friends at S.T.A.R. Labs, but he could tell the other man was going to reach his breaking point, and he wouldn't know what to do when that happened.

It wasn't like he could have him committed, and even if he could, Sebastian wouldn't have been able to bring himself to do it.

Sebastian was silently going over that in his mind, trying to figure out what to do, when it hit him. He stiffened in place, blinking and shaking his head, before reaching out and snatching the remote from his brother's hand.

"Hey!" Barry protested indignantly, snapping his head to the side to glare at the other man with a frown. "I was _watching_ that! What are you-" He stopped talking when the older twin hushed him, changing the TV to the news, broadcasting from Starling City.

 _"A riot has just broken out_ _amongst a group of civilians and mobster Danny Brickwell. It's been over a week since he threatened the lives of official city personnel in order to force Mayor Castle to order all members of the Starling City Police Department to leave The Glades, which has seen a rapid spike in crimes such as vandalism, armed robbery, assault and other violent crime since-"_

His brother was staring at the television with a horrified expression. They could clearly see the struggle between the Glades' citizens and gangbangers, who were using everything from guns to baseball bats and whatever else they could find.

"You didn't know about this, did you?"

Barry shook his head rapidly, looking angry for a moment, before his concern took over, "No, I haven't talked to Felicity since..."

He didn't need to finish, Sebastian nodded his head towards the door, "Go. Help."

The younger man was gone in a blur of yellow.

* * *

Barry hadn't been able to bring himself to actually visit Starling City since he got the news of Oliver's death.

It had been a complete shock. He'd been completely numb at first, the breakdown had come later. Honestly, he thought nothing could have been more painful than what he'd already been through in his life. Losing one of his parents to death, and the other to a wrongful convinction had been hard enough. Then there was what happened with Danny and Jen, drifting apart from his brother, and trying to come to terms with his sexuality.

Just when he thought he and Oliver were finally starting to understand what they were, sort of, he was ripped away from him before they ever had a chance to really _be_ together.

The Kübler-Ross model postulated that there were five stages of grief, following the loss of a loved one.

Like everything that had happened after the accident, Barry supposed that he went through these rather quickly; the first week after his phone call with Felicity had been absolute hell.

But... at the same time, he seemed to be cycling through the first three emotions. First, it was the denial - that Oliver couldn't possibly be _gone_ , he'd survived death more times than anyone, it had to be a mistake. They never found his body, after all. Then it was anger, at everyone - wondering what the fuck he was thinking taking off like that, and why the hell did the others just let him go? After the depression set in, he felt like he couldn't breathe, and he just wanted to curl and hide, let his misery have him. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye...

Finally: _he can't be dead._

Then the cycle would begin again. For three weeks he went through this, repeatedly, but he never seemed to reach the other two stages. He couldn't try bargaining, because there was no one to bargain _with_ ; Barry didn't believe in a higher power, not really, so that was out. There was also no way for him to accept what he'd been told. A bloody sword, in his opinion, was _not_ satisfactory evidence. Until there was real, solid proof, he wouldn't accept Malcolm Merlyn's words at face value, and he couldn't believe that the others did.

As angry and heartbroken as he was, he knew he couldn't just by and do nothing. Had he known the Glades were in trouble he would have been there in an instant.

Even if Oliver was gone, Starling City had been pretty much everything to him, which meant that it was everything to Barry, as well. He couldn't let all of the sacrifices the Arrow had made to keep the people living there safe be for nothing, and even if Felicity, Roy and Diggle hadn't actually asked for his help, he had to.

For _him_.

* * *

By the time he got there, it was already chaotic.

 _Everyone_ was fighting, and he tried to locate the others, but it was dark and hard to even find Roy, whose costume should have stood out among the sea of black. He started helping out the civilians, who were starting to become overwhelmed by the mobsters, taking down several with quick hits to the head, at just the right speed and force to knock them unconscious.

That was when he saw a man, who he recognized as "Brick", beating a masked man who was already down, before taking out a gun.

Before he could move forward to stop him, a red-painted arrow lodged itself into his chest, making him cry out in pain.

 _Roy_.

The younger man spotted Barry, grinned, and then took off to help the others.

He turned to help the fallen masked man, but saw a blonde woman in all black leather bending down to help him, and confusion swept over the speedster.

The Canary?

But... Sara was dead, wasn't she? Man, he really had been living under a rock. "You're going to be fine."

Hearing that, Barry narrowed his eyes at Brick's retreating form and started to go after him, only for some schmuck to jump him as he headed into the alley, slamming him up against, sending a shooting pain up his back, and winding him temporarily.

"Not another one of you freaks!" The man growled, pulling back a closed fist, before a sharp _thwack_ echoed into the night and he down.

Barry blinked, there was a petite girl with dark, spiky punk hair standing in front of him, wielding a baseball bat.

"Who are you?" she questioned, cautiously, wondering if the guy she'd helped was on their side. She saw a goon and attacked first, without thinking.

"...The Flash."

The vigilante (or "blur") that had been on the news lately? She officially knew her life wasn't normal when masked superheroes with bizarre powers weren't considered fucking weird anymore, "Sin." She told him, before backing off, disappearing into the crowd once more to help her friends.

Shaking his head, Barry zipped further into the alley, ready to grab Brick from behind, when the large man suddenly stopped, staring at the man dressed in heavy-looking black protective clothing, including a garment that covered most of his face.

" _Really?_ " Brick growled out, stalking forward, "How many more of you masks are there?!"

Barry gritted his teeth, knowing instantly that the Dark Archer had to be Malcolm Merlyn. Anger clouded his thoughts, and as they began fighting he couldn't help but wish that Brick lost, if only so he could take down the other man himself for what he'd done to the Queen family.

When Malcolm had a gun shoved into Brick's bloody face, though, he knew he couldn't just stand by and watch a guy get murdered, even if he was a scumbag.

"Merlyn!" He stepped out of the darkness, "Drop it."

The man looked up, and narrowed his eyes in confusion, not recognizing him, before apparently deciding it didn't matter, "You don't understand, he killed her!" He gripped the gun tighter.

Holding his hands up, he started to inch forward.

Barry probably could have used his speed to try to disarm him, but he didn't want to startle the man in case it made the gun go off anyways, "He's killed a lot of people. You're going to have to be more specific."

He knew if Merlyn killed Brick, he would have absolutely no reason to hold back from taking this monster out, but he wasn't a murderer, and it wouldn't be what Oliver wanted anyways. Because he had changed from the person he was when he first returned to Starling.

Still, Barry couldn't help but wonder about Malcolm. Oliver had told him a lot about Tommy, this man's son and his lifelong best friend, all the good things about him. Right now, he couldn't see any of those good things in the guy's dad, just anger and despair.

"Rebecca! She was my wife! I'm doing this for her!"

The young man's stomach dropped. Of course, he knew about this, Oliver had told him that, too. Losing her had been the reason he became an assassin and began the Undertaking in the first place. He had always assumed that Merlyn had killed the guy responsible for it a long time ago, though. For a moment, he imagined himself in Merlyn's place, with the Reverse-Flash laying where Brick was on the ground, and he hesitated.

"What?" The man groaned out, staring up at the barrel in his face, unflinchingly, and Malcolm grabbed him, furiously, "You don't even know her _name_ , do you?"

He pistol whipped Brick across the face, and still Barry was frozen.

Logically, he knew he should stop Merlyn, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think that the world would be better off without people like Brick. People who widowed men and turned their lives upside down, who snatched the lives of innocent little kids' mothers away.

"Is this the weapon you used to murder my wife?"

Brick spat out some blood, "Every body I dropped was with that piece..."

How arrogant.

Merlyn's hands were shaking badly now, and he seemed to have completely forgotten about everything and everyone else at this point, focused entirely on his wife's murderer, "She was a good person. Decent, kind. She ran a clinic right here in the Glades."

"Brunette?" The mobster asked, before his head fell back, and he laughed, "Yeah, now I remember. She was my first. My initiation into the Orchid Bay Butchers."

Barry could see Malcolm's lips quiver, eyes flashed dangerously, "You murdered her because you wanted into a _gang?_ "

He backed up, seemingly going into shock, and Brick took that opportunity to rise from the ground. "No... Because she was weak! Because she was crying, begging me not to kill her. But you won't get that from me, so come on! Finish it!"

 _Slam!_

The mobster was on the ground again.

"Malcolm!" Barry was behind him in an instant, finally snapping out of it, putting a hand on his shoulder, as much as the man's presence infuriated and disgusted him, "Stop. You _don't_ want to do this."

"Why shouldn't I? He killed her while she was begging for her life!"

"I know." He said quietly, "I understand-"

"Don't!" Now the gun was being shoved into Barry's face, "How _dare_ you-"

The speedster knew he could disarm him rather easily at this point, but he still felt he could talk him down, "My mother was murdered in front of me when I was eleven."

Malcolm seemed to stiffen at that, and for a moment he thought he saw the killer's face soften...

Perhaps he was thinking of Tommy?

"My father was framed and convicted for it. I...I used to sneak into Iron Heights to visit him." He continued, putting a hand over the gun, lowering it when Merlyn n didn't stop him. "You can't see what he's doing, but Brick," he nodded sharply at the man on the ground, "He _wants_ you to end it, that way he won't be rotting away in prison, or constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for someone to take him down. Don't let him get away with a quick death."

"You...really gonna let some brat in a leather catsuit tell you what to do?" Brick edged him on, "Are you really _that_ weak?"

He gritted his teeth and began to turn.

"Malcolm-" This time he did try to stop the man, but he pulled some sort of fancy martial artist's move and grabbed Barry by his right arm and wrenched it up, pain searing along his shoulder as Merlyn knocked him to the ground, "Sorry, Kid. But I promised her." He actually seemed sincere, but it didn't stop him from closing in on Brick with the pistol in his hand.

"This is for Rebecca!"

* * *

23 days.

Oliver had been away from Starling City for nearly a _month_.

He hadn't expected it to be that long when he returned home, that's for sure. But then again, he had discovered a lot of things he hadn't anticipated, like the fact that all police had been yanked out of the Glades, thanks to the mayor, and it had been over a week now.

Crime had been rapidly going up as a result.

No one was at Verdant when he got there, which was slightly surprising considering it was rather late in the evening, but at the same time a bit of a relief.

It gave him time to think.

He never expected to see Tatsu again, but learning what had become of not just Maseo, but her as well, was painful. He knew the loss of Akio must have been devastating for them. He could empathize to an extent, considering most of his family was dead, but he couldn't imagine what the death of their only child must have done to them.

Even so, he wished he could have convinced them to go with him.

 _And do what, exactly?_ , a cynical voice asked in the back of his mind, G _et slaughtered along with the rest of you when the League comes back to Starling?_

No, he wouldn't let that happen. Oliver knew the others would be pissed off at him when they found out he was alive, that was to be expected, but at the moment he had more important things to worry about. First, stop the Glades from breaking out into an all out bloodbath (again) at the hands of some criminal mobster, and then - figure out how to truly defeat Ra's Al Ghul and protect Thea.

From what he'd seen, the Glades were under siege, Danny Brickwell was extorting people using intimidation and violence, not to mention leaving a wave of destruction everywhere he went. He was lucky that the others hadn't thought to change the locks on the basement door, or the password for Felicity's computer system.

It was only then that he happened to notice that Roy's uniform wasn't on the mannequin, and figured that the others were already out fighting a, currently, losing battle. It didn't explain why a certain blonde tech wasn't here, though.

He didn't have time to worry about that, though, he had to stop the city from getting completely taken over by mobsters.

After this mess was over with, then he could talk to his friends.

* * *

He could see the looks of shock on Roy's and Laurel's faces when he showed up amongst the havoc, but he didn't have time to stop and talk to them.

Oliver took off to find Brick, unfortunately, he wasn't the first one. The sight which he walked into wasn't all that surprising, really. Except for the fact that Brick was still alive, for now. Danny Brickwell was on the ground, on his back, soaked in his own blood, his face almost unrecognizable, with Malcolm Merlyn sticking a gun in his face with trembling hands. He noticed someone rise behind him, and realized it was Barry.

How did he get involved in all of this?

Concern washed over him when he noticed the younger man gripping his shoulder, which appeared to be dislocated, before his eyes focused on Malcolm.

Apparently he'd tried to talk him down, and it hadn't gone over too well.

His lips pulled back in a sneer, "This is for Rebecca!"

"Don't do it!" He stepped out of the shadows.

Shock crossed Barry's face, but Malcolm seemed completely unsurprised. Hell, he probably had known Oliver was alive the whole time, it wouldn't have been that big of a stretch. "You're too late."

"Drop the gun." Oliver told him, calmly, "No more death."

Merlyn barked out a laugh that was edging on hysterical, "That's easy for you to say, you just returned from the grave. _Again_."

He moved closer, slowly, "Killing him won't balance the scales."

"When you've killed five hundred and three people, including your own _son_ , you tend not to worry about _scales_." The assassin replied cynically, "And don't tell me it won't stop the pain and it won't bring her back because you don't understand!" He glanced behind him, "He does. Just ask him. If he could kill the one that murdered his mother, he would."

Barry looked away.

Malcolm seemed pretty shaken up, leaving the man to wonder just what he and the Flash had discussed, but Oliver had already known he was unstable, and brushed it off. "If I had taken care of him back then, it could all be _different_. The League, the Undertaking, _Tommy..._ " His voice broke, and he sucked in a sharp breath, "Every choice I have ever made since my wife died."

"You make a different choice now," He urged, "For Thea."

His finger tightened on the trigger, and he shook his head at that. "Thea will never forgive me."

"Start giving her reasons to."

* * *

 _"I've been gone, and I'm sorry... Sorry for what the city has had to endure in my absence, but you **did** endure it, and the evidence of that struggle is lying at my feet. You did not fail this city, and I promise that I will not fail you by leaving it again." _

* * *

The others were downstairs when he arrived at the Foundry, except for Laurel and Barry.

He wondered why they weren't with them, but figured the lawyer might have been checking in with her father, and the speedster was at S.T.A.R. Labs, getting his arm fixed. He'd taken off before Oliver had the chance to talk to him, just after talking Malcolm down.

"Sorry I didn't come by sooner," He said softly, as they turned around, and Felicity ran over to hug him, "I just wanted to check in on Thea..." He returned the embrace, taking in the scent of her perfume, which he thought he might never be able to do again once he left.

The blonde didn't let go until he assured her he was alright, "Merlyn told us you were killed."

"I was close." He admitted, turning to look at the guys, "And I'm sorry I didn't reach out sooner, I wasn't exactly in a cell service area."

Oliver smiled, and shook Diggle's hand, the normally stoic man was grinning also, "You kept the city together," he turned to Roy next, clasping the younger man on the shoulder, "Saved the Glades. Well done."

That was when he spotted a very familiar sword on one of the lab tables, sans half his blood volume.

"It's a gift," His friend told him, "From Malcolm Merlyn. He went looking for you."

"It's Ra's Al Ghul's, right?" Roy asked quietly, and he felt a dull throb of pain from where he'd been stabbed.

"Yep," Oliver said, and his partner seemed worried, "So what are we gonna do about him? I mean, if he finds out about Thea-"

"Merlyn and I are working on that," He quickly cut in, before bracing himself for shouting and protests from the three of them.

To his surprise, only Felicity seemed to object, "Sorry? For a second there it sounded like you said _Merlyn_."

"I need to know how to defeat Ra's." Oliver told her, sighing. "Merlyn has the knowledge."

She was staring at him in horrified disbelief, "Merlyn is a monster." He didn't disagree with that statement. "You're in this situation - _Thea_ is in the situation - because of him." Was he out of his mind? Had he hit his head on the way down the mountain or something?

"Felicity..."

"No," The blonde snapped, "Just a few hours ago, I stood right here and swore that there was no way you would ever agree to work with Malcolm Merlyn, not _ever_." She shook her head, "I guess I was wrong about everything."

Oliver tried to say something, but she turned and walked passed him, "I need some air."

Her heels clacked on the metal staircase, "I'm glad you're not dead."

Well, he was having trouble believing that _now_.

Since he was half expecting Roy to crack some kind of joke to break the tension, and the fact that everyone remained awkwardly silent was a little offputting. But he figured that neither he or Diggle really knew what to say at this point, so they didn't.

Not knowing what to say either, Oliver headed upstairs, after Felicity.

* * *

She wasn't that hard to spot, even in the darkness, wearing that bright pink coat.

Oliver called her name, but she just kept walking.

"'I need some air' really means 'I don't want to talk right now'." Felicity snapped without turning around.

He sighed, yeah, he'd definitely screwed things up with her. Again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She finally looked at him, "Maybe you could be a little more specific. For letting us believe you were dead for _weeks_ , or for abandoning every principle you claim to have by getting into bed with _Malcolm Merlyn?_ "

...Disturbing mental image.

She backed up when he tried to get closer to her, and he exhaled, "That's not why you're upset."

Felicity's eyes flashed with anger and despair, "While you were gone for almost a _month_ , I allowed myself to... f-fantasize, to dream that maybe, just _maybe..._ Merlyn was wrong, that you were alive and that you would come back and that when you did you would be different, that almost dying _again_ would give you a new perspective on life, that you would do things differently-" she stopped, blinking back tears at this point, and the sight pained him.

"Differently between us, you mean."

The blonde took a few steps forward, so she was looking right up at him, "Before you left, the last thing you said to me... was that you loved me." He swallowed, and nodded, he couldn't deny it. Emotions were running high while they said their goodbyes, and he had told her that, in the heat of the moment.

"Now you're back, and the _first thing_ you tell me is that you're working with the man who turned your sister, a woman you're _supposed to love_ , into a killer, who killed a woman you used to _love_." She took a deep breath, and met his gaze, steadily.

"...I don't want to be a woman that you love."

Felicity gave him a long, sad look, before turning and walking away, taking a piece of his heart with her.

* * *

When he returned to the basement of Verdant, Roy was the only one there.

"Where's Diggle?"

The young man shrugged, "Headed home for the night. Probably a tired, plus he has a kid and all..." he yawned, and the older vigilante frowned, because the kid looked kind of exhausted, and he felt a twinge of guilt. Obviously the team had been overworking themselves in his absence.

"You should go home, too, get some rest."

Roy smiled a little at the concern, "I'm fine, just a little tired from all the excitement tonight, you know? I-" his phone buzzed and he paused, "Just a sec." He checked his message, frowned slightly, and looked up, "You seen Barry?"

Oliver's own frown deepened at the question, "Not since the fight earlier - why?"

The younger archer quickly texted something back, and pocketed his phone again, "Just got a text from Cisco, he said the Flash never stopped by S.T.A.R. Labs to drop off the suit or something, and he's not answering his phone." Seeing the look on the vigilante's face, he added, "We kept in touch after the teamup thing with Harkness."

Well, that admittedly concerned him, where would Barry take off to with his shoulder all messed up?

"Don't worry, I'm sure he just went home or something like that. It's been a pretty brutal couple of weeks, probably needed to get some sleep." Roy told him, "I'm sure it has nothing to do with you."

His words caught Oliver's attention, "Me? What do you mean?"

Why would it have anything to do with him?

Roy hesitated, looking at the ceiling uncomfortably, "Well, I mean, you know. Weren't you two like... _together_ , or something?"

Fuck, did it really seem that obvious that something had been going on?

"I haven't talked to Barry since before I left to face Ra's Al Ghul." Oliver told his partner honestly, not really sure how to reply to that. He didn't want to lie to one of his team members, but truth be told he didn't really know what he and Barry were supposed to be.

"Oh, right. I guess you...right..." He cleared his throat, awkwardly. "That's probably because Felicity might have told him you were dead." He said, and Oliver stared at him, a sense of dread overcoming him.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know _why_ she did, I'm pretty sure she didn't have a clue about you guys, but according to Cisco he took it...badly. But like I said, don't worry. Maybe he went for a run to clear his head, or took the train home?" he joked half-heartedly, referencing the time they all worked together and Barry admitted that he still did just that when he wanted a nap.

Roy headed passed him now, "I think I am going to head home, actually, hit the hay. But, uh, I'm really glad you're back, Oliver." He said quietly, before heading up the stairs.

The archer sighed heavily, staring at the only empty glass case in the room, realizing that he was going to have to go talk to Barry, which he hadn't gotten to do yet. He'd been focusing a lot on beating Ra's, and his poor explanation to Felicity meant he'd probably lost her for good.

Oliver couldn't stand to do the same to Barry, he had to go see the younger man, make him understand why he left. Then he was done messing around in the kid's life and causing him pain. The best thing he could do for the speedster and Felicity both was to keep things strictly professional from then on.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

 **So, definitely not how I expected this chapter to go. I'd totally planned to do option A, but instead ended up doing a combination of A and B, but because it was getting kind of long I decided to break it up into two chapters. The next chapter, I promise, has Oliver and Sebastian meeting for the first time, and some more Flarrow moments that I think will be just as fluffy as it is angsty.**

 **Who's excited for the two of them to _finally_ get together?**


End file.
